Embracing Ash
by sevenofdiamonds7
Summary: Ashley Summers is the new girl in school and appears to be born trouble; the kind of girl Yves Benedict seeks to avoid. However, Yves finds himself constantly caught up in her wild, unpredictable life. It's almost as though fate has a crazy way of drawing the two of them together…
1. Chapter 1

**So i found the beginning of this story on my computer and considered for a long time before posting it. I can't make any promises that i will be updating regularly (although i will try my best.) I know i already have some unfinished stories on here and i will try to get them finished at some point (sorry.) My life is a little hectic right now so i hope you forgive me.**

**This story is about Yves and it's set at a time before finding sky so none of the others have soulfinders yet. If you like it, leave a review :**)

Ashley's POV.

"Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself to the class," Mr Donnelly ordered in a bored, uninterested tone. The guy acted as though he was currently going through a mid-life crisis and the only important thing left in the world was when he was going to get his next cup of coffee. Everything from the mustard stained tie to the odd socks on his feet just proved that he had given a long time ago. The only reason why he was still teaching was the money.

"Uh…hi…I'm Ash…Short for Ashley" I glanced around the room but no one seemed to be listening. "I'm originally from New York. I like the shopping, the beach, swimming…" I trailed off since there was nothing else I could say. Everything I had listed was the complete opposite to Wickenridge. After coming from the city of life and travelling half way across the country to wet, cold Wickenridge, it certainly didn't make waking up any easier.

No one was listening so I quickly took a seat next to a girl with the nicest eye make-up I had ever seen and a boy who looked like he would be a laugh. Starting a new school in the middle of a term was awkward because everyone had already settled down in their friendship groups. A little village like Wickenridge, the students probably knew each other since they were toddlers.

School really wasn't my thing and I had no intentions of trying in my lessons. No point in trying for an impossible task. I think I almost dozed off at some point in the lesson but was quickly awoken with my name being spoken in a disapproving manner.

"Miss Summers, why don't you read out your paragraph to the class," Stupid Mr Donnelly said with a stupid smirk. I sighed, glancing down at my couple of sentences that took a good twenty minutes trying to put together. I wasn't good at schoolwork and I wasn't prepared to look stupid in front of a new class of people that would be judging my every move. Teenagers could be cruel. In my old school, no one cared if I was dumb. I was pretty and funny and well-liked by everyone; no one cared that I couldn't tell my Dickens from my Darwins. I actually liked my old school…and if it wasn't for stupid Stacey Miller acting like a bitch to me, I wouldn't have gotten excluded from aggressive behaviour.

"Miss Summers?" Donnelly prompted. "Read it out."

"No." I replied and heard someone gasp from behind…like actually gasp…as though we were in a bloody pantomime.

"Well this really isn't a good start to your first day. Read it out or I will," he threatened.

I groaned, rolling my eyes and debating my options; I could either come across as another stupid blonde stereotype, or show them that no one will mess with me.

I ripped up my paper into tiny shreds, scattering them around my desk, watching Donnelly's face getting more furious.

"Screw this shit," I muttered under my breath, dusting my hands to get rid of the tiny squares of paper that stuck to my palms.

"Miss Summers! I suggest you head straight to the headmaster's office!" Donnelly shouted, his voice strained and his fists clenched. I would be laughing at how constipated he looked if all the anger wasn't directed at me.

"Oh, but sir, I don't know where the headmaster's office is! I'm new here," I smirked, fluttering my eyelashes at him. None of the students said a word, as though they were afraid of getting yelled at for merely breathing.

Donnelly looked ready to hit me but instead he just sighed before heading back to his desk, probably wishing he never applied for the job as a teacher.

"Benedict, please escort Miss Summers to the headmaster," Donnelly said in a strained and exhausted voice as though I had absorbed all the energy out of him.

I smirked, swinging my bag over my shoulder and heading out of the door ahead of whoever this Benedict guy was.

I headed down the corridor, whistling a tune to myself.

"Hey! Ash! You're going to wrong way!" The Benedict guy called from behind me. I spun around and grinned at him, weirdly surprised about how adorable he was. He was pretty damn hot but also looked intelligent and kind and genuinely a nice guy. He had the kind of hotness that made me want to rip my clothes off and do bad stuff right here in the corridor but he also had these kind, innocent eyes that made me want to snuggle up tight with him.

I felt almost bad messing him around like this.

"Did you really think I was going go to the headmaster?" I asked curiously, raising my eyebrows. He frowned at me disapprovingly like the teachers at the school did. Gee, he must take life far too seriously.

"Ashley, don't be ridiculous, you're only going to get yourself into more trouble," He frowned.

"I was born trouble," I snorted with laughter, heading outside. Benedict guy groaned and followed me, not wanting to lose the new girl on her first day.

"Hey, what's your name, cutie?" I turned and asked with a smirk.

"Please don't ever call me cutie again," he replied drily.

"Fine, handsome," I smirked and he rolled his eyes.

"Call me Yves."

I chuckled. The boy must have gotten teased mercilessly in middle school with a name like Yves. I liked it though; it suited him.

I smiled to myself as Yves helplessly followed me outside. The poor guy didn't look too happy about it but he was nice enough not to let the new girl get lost around the school.

"Seriously Ash, you're going to get into so much more trouble," Yves sighed.

"Come on Yves, live a little," I chuckled.

Ahead of me were two guys in leather jackets, standing next to the motorbikes with cigarettes in their hands. Suddenly, I heard Yves swear beside me and storm off ahead of me to the two guys.

"Zed?! What the hell are you doing?!" Yves shouted, shoving the tallest boy roughly. I quickly skipped up beside him, interested in watching the drama unfolding.

"Seth, go back to your lesson now," Yves demanded angrily. The other guy looked hesitantly at Zed before shrugging and walking off leaving the three of us alone.

"Yves, just go away," Zed bit out furiously, reaching out to shove Yves away but Yves stopped him. Zed took another long drag of the cigarette just in spite of Yves, challenging him with his eyes.

"Mind if I take a drag?" I asked cheekily, only really to wind Yves up. He looked cute when he was mad.

"Don't you dare, Ashley." Yves was shooting daggers at me with his eyes.

Zed smirked at me with amusement before looking back at Yves.

"Is that your girlfriend, brother?" Zed snickered and Yves growled in frustration. Ahh so they were brothers. That made a lot of sense actually. Even though they were dressed and presented themselves completely differently, appearance wise, they were very similar.

"No! Grow up Zed! I know you're finding things hard but you can't just do stuff like this! What the hell are mom and dad going to say?!" Yves shouted angrily and Zed glared back. Suddenly, the tip of the cigarette lit up into flames as though it had caught fire and Zed quickly dropped it to the ground, stopping it out with his foot and staring at Yves who was looking away.

"Zed I need to tell them about this," Yves said quietly, his voice softened.

"No you don't Yves. All of you need to butt the hell out of my life and leave me alone," Zed glared. Yves sighed before looking at me as though he finally remembered that I was standing there.

"We'll talk about this at home Zed," Yves said firmly. "Get to your lesson."

"No," Zed replied challengingly.

"I'm with your brother on this one, why can't we just hang out here?" I joined in and Yves sighed at me and running his hand through his hair as though he was stressed.

"Because I said so." Yves reached forward, grabbing Zed's arm tightly in one hand whilst grabbing my arm in the other. Surprisingly, Zed didn't resist as Yves practically dragged us both back into the school and down the corridor before pulling up outside a door. He was surprisingly strong for a nerdy looking guy.

"I believe this is your stop, Ashley," Yves smiled sarcastically at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Goody two shoes," I muttered under my breath, making Zed smirk. Yves released his tight grip on my arm and watched as I reluctantly headed into the headmaster's office, accepting my punishment.


	2. Chapter 2

**thank you so much for the feedback on the first chapter! You guys are the best! I have to point out that i originally wrote this as one long story without really splitting it up into chapters so sorry if the chapter sometimes finishes abruptly :/ **

Yves POV

Stressed was what I was feeling right now. Firstly with Ash being a pain in the ass and then finding my brother smoking. Suddenly my up and coming physics test didn't seem like much of a worry anymore. I knew Zed had been slipping lately but he wasn't the only one. All of us have been finding it difficult lately and Zed had no right to be acting out. Heck, everyone has their own ways with dealing with not having a soulfinder but only Zed feels the need to act out and put more worry on our plates.

"Yves, don't you have music club in a minuet?" My friend Ben cautioned beside me. He was slightly OCD about timings. If he was even a few seconds late for anything he went into major stress mode.

"It's fine, man, I'll get there," I replied with a smile.

"Damn, who the hell is she?" Ben murmured suddenly, looking straight ahead. I followed his gaze and let out a deep sigh when I saw what he was looking at.

The charming Ashley Summers that I had the pleasure to meet earlier was currently standing on top of the canteen table, spinning around in her heeled boots whilst her so called 'friends' laughed and cheered her on. She wore a dangerously short skirt and a top that was so tight it left little to the imagination. Even though she was the complete opposite to what I look for in a girlfriend, she was easily the most beautiful, sexist girl I had ever seen. Of course, Ashley would be sitting with the trouble makers of the school…who else. I groaned and stood up, sending Ben an apologetic smile.

"See you later mate, I better stop her before she breaks her neck."

I don't know why I was even bothering with this girl. Obviously she was a lost case, but something about her made me want to at least try and help her. The people she was sitting were known to be the more intimidating students of the school but I didn't really give a damn. Generally people liked me at school and I doubted they would give me too much trouble, considering that everyone in the school knew I had six other brothers.

"Yves! Hey babe!" Ash exclaimed, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she saw me walking towards her. Her pale blue eyes were shinning with adrenaline.

"What the hell are you doing Ash, get down before you hurt yourself," I ordered but Ashley only laughed.

"Damn I like it when you get bossy with me. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside!" Ash winked at me and her friends burst out laughing. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to disguise my embarrassment. That girl was going to give me a stress rash.

"I'm not playing with you Ash, get off the table."

"Ohh but I want to play with you, Yves!" Ashley giggled.

I sighed, debating my options here. Obviously she wasn't going to do as I said and I was getting pretty annoyed with her. I was going to be late for my music lesson so I decided that a more practical decision had to me made. I stepped up onto the canteen bench before grabbing her around the waist and carrying her off the table, over my shoulder.

"You behave like a bloody child," I scolded as I carried her away from the bad influence of her friends and outside of the canteen door, undoubtedly drawing the attention of the entire student body.

"I love it when you manhandle me," Ash giggled. I groaned and put her back down on the floor, holding onto her arm so she wouldn't run off.

"Since you can't behave on your own, I'm taking you to my music lesson." I declared, pulling Ash down the corridor with me.

"Yes Sir."

I rolled my eyes, getting slightly annoyed with her attitude. I thought new kids were supposed to be quiet and shy…not bloody monsters.

"Do you play any instrument?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Well you can just sit and listen then. Please behave," I pleaded.

"Only for you, Yves," Ash whispered seductively and I rolled my eyes again. She was probably only mocking me because she was beautiful and wild and sexy where else I was boring and nerdy. There was no way a girl like her could ever like someone like me. She was much more Zed's type.

We were five minutes late to music, much to my annoyance. Even Zed beat me to it.

"Mr Benedict, care to explain why you chose to be late to my lesson?" Mr Keneally frowned, seeming surprised at my unusual tardiness.

"I was showing Ashley around. She's new to the school," I replied. I guess it wasn't completely a lie.

"Are you a musician, Ashley?" Keneally asked hopefully. He gets a weird kick out of discovering new musicians in the school.

"Kind of," Ashley shrugged.

"She's just going to listen into this lesson, if that's okay," I amended and Mr Keneally nodded.

I took a seat at the piano, glancing over to Zed who was giving me a curious look.

_"Sure she's not a girlfriend?" _He asked telepathically.

_"No."_

_"Awesome. I might take her myself," _Zed replied smugly and I glared at him. For some reason that pissed me off; the two of them would just be terrible for each other. Neither of them cared for rules, opinions or expectations. It would be a disaster.

"Right class, from the top!" Keneally declared, waving his hands as a starting gesture and everyone began playing.

It sounded alright to be honest; it was kind of jazz meets swing kind of music, put together by our music teacher. He seemed pretty pleased when we finished except Ashley was shaking her head.

"No it doesn't sound right," Ashley stated loudly and I inwardly cursed. I could not take this girl anywhere without her causing a scene.

"Excuse me?!" Keneally barked, rightfully offended by her comment, but Ash didn't seem fazed as she stood up and walked around, scrutinizing every person and every instrument.

"You." Ashley pointed, pointing to a small, shy guy in the year below me called Kevin.

"Me?" Kevin gulped nervously.

"Yeah you're not playing the right thing. You're playing the double bass which sets the foundation of the whole composition but it's not working." Ashley stated bluntly as Kevin's cheeks blushed red.

"You have no right to criticise my students in my classroom!" Keneally shouted but Ash simply shrugged, completely ignoring him.

"Give it to me," Ashley demanded, holding out her hand until Kevin nervously handed over his instrument. I watched curiously as Ash quietly plucked a few strings, sticking her tongue out with concentration.

"Okay, I need some paper."

Kevin obeyed quickly, handing her a notebook and a pen. Ash quickly scribbled down something before going back to the double bass.

"I don't know what you think you are do-" Mr Keneally begun but Ashley simply shushed him.

"Hold on, I'm almost finished," Ash replied. To be honest, whatever she was playing sounded pretty awesome. I think she must have been lying when she said she didn't play any instrument because from where I was sitting, she played perfectly fine.

"Right! All done. Kevin or…whatever you name was, play what I wrote down on here instead," Ash ordered, heading back to her sit. At this point, Mr Keneally looked ready to kick Ashley out of class but he seemed almost too shocked to say anything. No one ever defied Mr Keneally…not even my idiot little brother. He was just the kind of teacher you didn't mess with.

"Ash…" I said in a warning tone, wondering where she was going with this.

"Yes my darling Yves?" Ash replied happily, grinning at me. I narrowed my eyes at her but she just laughed before standing up on her chair. I sighed, wondering what this girl's problem was with standing on furniture. One day she was going to hurt herself.

"Right class! From the top!" Ashley shouted and everyone looked at each, debating whether to play or not.

Eventually, Kevin begun and everyone joined in with their individual instruments. I have to say, this time round sounded a hell of a lot better with what Ash changed to the composition and I'm pretty sure Mr Keneally would have to agree with me.

"Perhaps I should simple resign and let you take over my class?" Mr Keneally raised his eyebrows at Ashley who simply laughed.

"It's not quite finished yet, Sir…It needs a few more…hmmm….." Ash paused, hesitating slightly as her eyes searched the instruments. "Ah ha!" Ash shouted suddenly, heading over to a quiet girl with a violin and I shook my head, chuckling slightly to myself. She was crazy. Absolutely insanely crazy. I couldn't help but just stare in amazement as she single handily re-wrote the entire composition, much to the shock of the teacher. Towards the end of lunch, our music composition sounded as though it could practically be sold on record it was so good, making me curious to why Ashley lied earlier and told me she doesn't play any instruments. From what I heard, she was a born musician.

I followed Ashley out of the music rooms at the end of lunch, hurrying to catch up with her.

"Thought you said you didn't play an instrument?" I asked and Ashley chuckled.

"I don't play any instruments. Doesn't mean I can't play them; I just don't."

"But you're amazing with music!" I exclaimed, still in shock at how brilliant she was.

"I like to compose my own songs…make mixes, combining beats…you know, like a DJ," Ash replied. Her bright blue eyes flashed with excitement and I smiled, being able to see how passionate she was about it from just her expression.

"That's pretty cool, I'd like to hear it some time," I replied with a smile. Did I just ask to see Ashley Summers outside of school?! The same girl who had been dancing on a table just an hour earlier?!

"Oh would you now, Yves?" Ash purred, battering her eyelashes at me. "Well I'm sure I can arrange that…you'll have to come up to my bedroom then. That's where I make most of my music." Ashley winked.

I gulped and looked away, pretty sure that my embarrassment was clear on my face. I was slightly awkward around girls, unlike my brothers, but Ashley always made me feel ten times more embarrassed and awkward than normal.

"Um…yeah…maybe some time," I replied before wincing at how stupid I sounded. It was almost like Ash tied knots in my tongue, making the words come out in a blur.

"I'll look forward to it, Yves Benedict." Ash trailed her fingers across my forearm before turning left to head into a classroom.

I immediately let out a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair to get it away from my face. Just at that point, some violently pushed into me from behind, almost knocking me over. I yelped in surprise and quickly turned around to see who it was.

"Zed!" I growled, shooting daggers at my younger, more annoying brother.

"Thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend?" Zed laughed and I sighed.

"She's not, that's just the way she is. She probably behaves like that to everyone," I shook my head, walking on down the corridor.

"Yeah…whatever you say, Romeo," Zed laughed.

I sighed and turned around to where Zed was following me.

"What do you want, Zed?"

"Please don't tell mom and dad about earlier…please Yves. I swear on my life I will never ever touch a cigarette...they're actually kind of gross tasting," Zed gushed, looking at me with pleading eyes. As tough as my brother likes to come across, I knew deep down he was terrified of what our parents would say if they ever found out. Especially mom.

"How long has it been going on for, Zed?" I pulled of my glasses and wiped the lenses against the hem of my shirt; something I do when I'm stressed.

"I promise, that was only like the second time I have ever done it. I just…I'm just sick of everything going on…and then feel so angry like all of the time…it just made me feel more normal and better I guess…" Zed said, struggling to find the words to explain himself.

"Zed," I sighed, not knowing what to say.

"It's just hard Yves. I know you understand. I know you well enough to know that you're only doing all these extra, optional exams and clever-clogg clubs to distract yourself. You just deal with things better than I do," Zed said and I smiled weakly, knowing that he was right.

"I won't tell if swear to me that you will never do it again," I replied finally. "Seriously Zed, mom and dad don't need this on top of everything right now."

Zed let out a breath of relief before quickly hugging me. He was a couple of inches taller than me but to me he would still always be my little brother. Zed pulled away, quickly glancing down the empty corridors to make sure that nobody saw.

"Thanks brother, I really mean that." Zed smiled. "And if you tell anyone I hugged you, I swear to god I will make your life hell, Yves," Zed threatened teasingly before grinning and jogging off down the corridor to his lesson. At least that was one worry crossed off my list.

**Please leave a review :) thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and stuff! :) I really appreciate it! Here is the next chapter (haven't checked it for spelling mistakes so i apologize in advance :) )**

Ashley's POV

I bloody hate my English lessons. After my rather shaky start with Mr Donnelly involving me ripping up my work and being marched by Yves to the head teacher's office, he had a pretty reasonable vendetta against me. It was only two weeks into the school year but already I had been sent out of the lesson more times than I have actually attended. Right now, we were having another one of our standoff moments. I felt like a cowboy as I held Donnelly's steady glare, imagining tumbleweeds blowing past and some cool western music in the background.

"Ashley, if you fail to complete the work, you will be in detentions every day for the next fortnight," Donnelly threatened and I gasped. Not that I would turn up to the detentions anyway, but I still thought it was unfair.

"Harsh much, Sir!" I complained, frowning at him.

"Just do your work Ashley! You are disrupting every other student in this class!" Donnelly shouted, finally snapping as though I had just broken through his tolerance limit. He was like an elastic band; I kept on stretching him and stretching him until eventually he would snap.

"Awh but I don't want to do my work, Sir." I pouted and stood up, debating whether or not I should just walk out and sit in a music room or something for the rest of the lesson. I was in a particularly restless mood today due to the large quantity of unhealthy snacks I had for breakfast. My blood was literally pumped full of sugar and E-numbers. I shouldn't be held accountable for my actions.

Suddenly I heard Yves make a sound of annoyance before turning around to glare at me.

"Ashley will you just shut up and do your work?! Come and sit next to me so I know you're actually going to focus," Yves demanded angrily, frowning slightly as though he surprised himself. Judging by the shocked expressions of the students and teachers, they were just as surprised with Yves' outburst as I was. Feeling slightly stunned, I couldn't help but gather up my book and paper before quietly walking over to the empty desk beside Yves. I don't know why I was obeying him; I just hated to see Yves pissed off at me. I just wanted to make him happy for some strange reason that I didn't fully understand.

Yves looked shocked that I actually obeyed him and looked at me in surprise before turning his attention back to his book.

"Right, everyone get back to your work," Donnelly demanded, heading back to the front desk.

"Sorry for yelling at you," Yves mumbled quietly after the class noise level had returned to average.

"That's okay. Sorry for misbehaving."

"What question are you on?" Yves asked gently, glancing over my shoulder to see my empty page of the exercise book. "Ah, you better get a move on; otherwise you'll have extra homework…even though you probably don't do homework either."

"Very true," I smiled slightly and Yves turned back to his own work where he had already written a page and a half in neat, font worthy handwriting.

I sighed and opened up my book, squinting at the text. I wasn't a good reader or writer. The words didn't click in my head like they did with everyone else. I'm not stupid like people think; I just can't do the words. Some kid in my old school called me stupid once and I knocked his tooth out, resulting in a pretty hefty dentist bill.

"Are you stuck?" Yves asked kindly and I scoffed stubbornly.

"No, it's easy."

"It's okay if you are, I'd help you."

"I don't need help, I'm fine." I replied harshly, my voice rising in anger slightly. I didn't need Yves Bennedict's help.

I read the first page with difficulty since the words never seemed to remain in the focus of my vision for long. By the time I had reached the end of the page, my mind seemed to have forgotten everything I head read in the past five minutes. I groaned in frustration, picking the book up by the spine, ready to throw it across the classroom towards the paper bit. Yves quickly snatched it off me, placing it back on the table, a safe distance from me.

"Ashley, you can't just do stuff like this every time you get frustrated. Let me help you," Yves said calmly but there was an underlining tone of control underneath as though he thought it was he's duty to 'fix' me.

"I can't do it," I explained in a quiet voice. "I'm not dumb! I just…I can't do it," I sighed sadly and Yves smiled as though he understood. Yves smiled and I could see from his smile alone that he had a kind heart. No wonder why he had girls flocking around him like magpies over silver.

"Read the question you're stuck on," Yves instructed.

I sighed, tucking my hair behind my eyes and frowning at the horrible printed text on the page.

"Um…What does…the..a-author..su-gest..th…thro.." I struggled reading through the words before giving up, feeling humiliated in front of Yves. He probably was laughing at how stupid I was.

"I don't want to read this crap," I mumbled, turning away.

"Ash," Yves said gently, resting his hand on my arm. "You don't have to be embarrassed. Loads of people are dyslexic, even super intelligent ones. Did you know that Albert Einstein was said to be dyslexic?"

"What's dyslexic?"

"Oh…I thought you might have been tested or something. It's something which affects your reading and spelling ability's along with other things like concentration, short term memory and stuff."

I narrowed my eyes at him in curiosity.

"But that still wouldn't help me…People will still think I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid, Ash. Not in the slightest; you just need a different technique of learning. I could help you if you like?" Yves suggested.

I nodded quietly, looking up at Yves with hopeful eyes. He was the first person who had ever offered help to me in my whole life. I mean, I get offers all the time from creepy men trying to get into my pants, but this was the first genuine offer.

The bell rang signalling the end of the lesson and I shoved my work into my fairly empty bag, not caring when it got scrunched up. Yves sighed and tutted before reaching down and smoothing out my messy work. I don't know why he felt the need to help me in my life but I wasn't exactly complaining. I had this strange attraction or fascination towards him that I couldn't really work out. It wasn't only his insane good looks that drew me to him, it was his whole demeaned that surrounded him. He was calm and smart and totally in control; the kind of guy who would know exactly what to do in every difficult situation.

"Have a nice evening, Ash," Yves said with a slight smile. He took of his glasses and placed them in the pocket of jacket and ran his hand over his amazingly perfect dark hair. I bet he woke up looking that good as well which was pretty annoying for me. My hair took ages to get it how I liked.

"You too, cutie. Do you have any plans?" I asked with a smirk since I knew how much Yves hated it when I called him that.

"My brothers are coming down for take-away night. My parents are out of town," Yves explain with a smile.

"Party at the Benedict's house! I hope you don't mine if I pop round and bring a few people. Don't worry, we'll supply the booze." I smirked, watching Yves's horrified expression.

"Don't you dare, Ashley!"

"Kidding! Loosen up a little," I teased, nudging Yves with my elbow.

"You better be kidding, Ashley. I can never tell with you," Yves narrowed his eyes at me.

"I'm a wild one," I agreed, singing the lyrics to him in my 'out-of-tune-and-proud' voice, making him laugh.

"You certainly got that right, take care Ash," Yves smiled before heading off to catch up with his brother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews guys! Hope you like the next chapter! :) **

Yves POV

All of my brothers drew straws over whose job it was to get pick up the pizza since delivery in this area was exceptionally slow. I drew the short straw, as did Uriel…although I'm 95% sure that Zed cheated, even though he swore on his motorbike. After picking up enough pizza to feed the five thousand, Uriel and I made the journey back in the car that now smelled strongly of cheese and pepperoni.

"Slow down," I said, watching the figure stumbling one step into the road before stepping back onto the sidewalk. She was wearing a short black dress…probably on her way back from a party.

"Why?" Uriel asked with a slight frown.

"That girl is going to end up falling in the road. We probably should check she gets home safely," I said, pointing to the clearly drunken girl on the sidewalk. Uriel nodded and slowed down the car beside her.

"I feel like a total creep asking her to get in the car," Uriel frowned before rolling down the window.

"Excuse me ma'am…are you okay there?" Uriel called politely, trying to convey kindness in his tone so he wouldn't look like some sleazy pervert.

"Huh?" The girl asked and stopped to look in the car. "Oh it's you, hey Yves baby…this is a coincidence," she giggled, slurring in speech slightly.

"You know her?" Uriel asked me, slightly bewildered and amused. I sighed, realising exactly who this drunken, skimpily dressed girl was.

"Give me two minutes." I sent Uri an apologetic look before quickly getting out of the car and jogging over to where Ashley was barely standing.

"Hey sexy," Ashley slurred, staggering slightly so I reached forward, holding her steady.

"You're drunk," I stated disapprovingly. This only made Ashley laugh even more and she leaned further against my chest.

"What you gonna do about it babe?" Ashley chuckled, her tone of voice sounding teasing but flirtatious at the same time.

"Well I'm not leaving you here alone, not while you're in this condition," I frowned at her. She was only 18 years old; she wasn't even legally allowed to be drunk. "Where do you live? Come on, I'll take you home," I said decisively, walking her towards the car with my arm wrapped tightly around her tiny waist since she was barely able to walk unaided.

"Get in," I ordered impatiently, holding the door open for her.

"I like this bossy side of you, Yves," Ashley giggled, complying and practically falling into the back seat. Her skin tight dress was riding dangerously high on her thighs and it was making me uncomfortable. Most of the girls at my school wouldn't dare wearing a dress as short as Ashley's…but I guess Ashley wasn't most girls.

"Detour?" Uriel suggested with a smirk on his face as I climbed into the back beside Ashley.

"Sorry, I need to make sure she gets home alright," I apologised. "Ashley, where do you live?"

"I don't remember," Ashley mumbled, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Ashley focus please, just tell me your address," I sighed impatiently. I was slightly apprehensive about her throwing up in Uri's car. I knew his car was his pride and joy.

"I want to go back to your house Yves," Ashley giggled, reaching up and resting her small hand against my cheek.

I groaned and shifted so that Ashley wasn't lying on top of me anymore. She was heavier than she looked and far too intoxicated to know what she was doing.

"Ashley, you know I can't take you home. Your parents will be worried," I sighed. This girl was hard work.

"They won't," Ashley said confidently. "Please Yves….I'll be as quiet as a mouse," Ashley whispered, making herself crack up with laughter even though she wasn't the slightest bit funny.

"It would be inappropriate if I took you home," I replied, sending Uri a pleading look in the front mirror, hoping he would save me from the whole Ashley situation. He seemed genuinely amused about what was going on at the moment with no intention of helping at all.

"If you had sex with me, it would be entirely consensual," Ashley muttered and I heard Uriel chuckling in the front seat.

"Yeah well that's not going to happen," I shook my head. She was only saying this stuff because she was intoxicated. Girls like Ashley don't date nerdy guys like me. They go for the jocks or the ones that ride motorbikes and wear leather jackets.

"Who's that man there?" Ashley whispered loudly, pointing to Uriel.

"I'm Uriel, Yves' older and much better brother. It's nice to meet you," Uriel smiled, reaching around the chair to shake Ashley's hand. Ashley laughed before attempting to high-five him; too drunk to realise that a high-five wasn't Uriel's intention.

"Uriel, I think you're very attractive. Yves, are your whole family hot?" Ashley chuckled, shifting even closer to me.

"Ashley quit playing around, just tell us where you live," I frowned, my patience wearing slightly thin.

"I don't know," Ashley whined. "I just wanna sleep and then drink some more," Ashley mumbled incoherently since her lips were muffled by my shoulder as she leant against me.

"No more alcohol for you," I scolded. "Uriel, let's just take her back to ours until she sobers up."

Uriel nodded in agreement, re-staring the engine.

"Yves….Yves I don't feel too good," Ashley moaned.

"Yves, she better not throw up in my car," Uriel threatened immediately. I sighed at the two of them, feeling like I was caught in the middle here.

"Do you need us to pull over?" I asked Ashley.

"No I just…I think I need another drink," Ashley chuckled.

"No you do not," I shook my head in disapproval. "Who even gave you alcohol in the first place? Do your parents know about this?"

"Some men brought me some drinks and said they would take me back to their place," Ashley mumbled and I froze, catching Uriel's matching worried glance in the mirror.

"Did you go back to their place?" I asked Ashley, feeling suddenly protective over her.

"Does it matter?" Ashley rolled her eyes. "Could you put some music on please?" Ashley asked sleepily before lying down and resting her head in my lap.

This was the quietest and peaceful I had ever seen Ashley so I was pretty keen on keeping it that way. I didn't ask any more questions on the way back and Ashley didn't make any more suggestive comments. Judging by the gentle snores, she had already nodded off to sleep.

As Uriel parked on the drive, he turned around to look at a sleeping Ashley before smirking.

"So…are the two of you friends or what?" Uriel asked with an amused expression.

"We're not friends," I quickly disagreed. All my friends were kind of like me; nice and a little nerdy. Ashley was right down on the other end of the scale. I'm sure my mother would have kittens if I started hanging around with someone as wild as Ashley.

"Right…" Uriel chuckled, not sounding like he believed me. "I'll take the pizza in if you take Ashley."

I wasn't really left with a choice and I didn't want to wake her up because she was a bloody nightmare when she was awake so I carefully lifted her into my arms and staggered towards the door, following Uriel. Ashley was far heavier than I expected considering how tiny she looked…she must have drunken half her body weight in alcohol.

"Finally! We're starving in here!" Xav shouted as soon as he heard us walking in through the door.

"Shut up," I spoke quietly, carrying Ashley into the living. "I swear to God, if you wake her, you will be dealing with her," I threatened and awkwardly shifted her in my arms, staring expectantly at Zed and Victor who were sitting on the couch.

"Can you two move or something…she's kind of breaking my arms here," I asked and Zed chuckled, moving over to the over sofa and sitting on-top of Xav, just to piss him off.

"Get off me you elephant!" Xav exclaimed, giving Zed a hard shove to the ground.

"Guys! What did I say about being quiet! It was hard enough getting her to go to sleep; I can't deal with her waking up again!" I hissed, carefully placing Ashley on the couch and tugging her dress down so she wouldn't flash her underwear to my brothers.

"So about that unconscious girl in your arms….where exactly did you find her? I'm pretty sure none of us ordered that with our meal," Xav joked, tucking into his pizza.

"That's Ashley, Yves's girlfriend," Zed replied, his mouth full to the brim with pizza.

"She is not my girlfriend!" I exclaimed before quickly lowering my voice.

"It's okay if she is, Yves. No need to be embarrassed," Will grinned, clearly enjoying winding me up.

"I'm telling the truth. She's just in my class. Uriel and I saw her practically falling in the road she was so drunk and decided that we couldn't leave her alone."

"Shouldn't we take her back to her parents?" Trace suggested, looking slightly concerned at Ashley as any police officer would.

"She wouldn't give me her address. I thought that I should keep her here until she sobers up or something," I replied, sitting down on the floor beside Ashley and helping myself to pizza.

"Just make sure she's gone before mom and dad get back tomorrow morning. You know mom would flip if she finds out you've taken an intoxicated girl home," Victor cautioned with a smirk.

"Hey, remember that time Victor brought that girl home…what was her name….the one with all the piercings and tattoos and stuff?" Uriel chuckled and everyone joined in.

"Miranda?" Will suggested with a knowing smirk and Victor rolled his eyes.

"Mom hated her," Trace chuckled.

"She was a bitch," Victor shrugged, not sounding sympathetic at all. I don't blame him; Miranda basically used Victor for fancy dates at the same time as she was cheating with some guy from Aspen. "I could understand why mom hated her…the cheating whore," Victor frowned and Xav burst out laughing.

"Who's a cheating whore?" A small, slightly husky voice sounded and I sighed, sending daggers at Xav, whose laugh was loud enough to wake the dead. "Not me I hope," Ashley continued and then sat up, smoothing down her hair.

"How do you feel?" I asked cautiously.

"Like I'm still drunk but feel hungover at the same time," Ashley replied with a frown. Trace narrowed his eyes towards Ashley, obviously picking up on the fact that she was underage.

"My brother's a cop, Ashley," I replied and Ashley smile.

"I do like a man in uniform," she winked at Trace and I just rolled my eyes. What was wrong with this girl?

"Holy crap, Yves you brothers are all super-hot….you never told me this," Ashley giggled, looking around at my bemused brothers.

"Why on earth would I tell you that?" I frowned.

"Awh, are you jealous, babe?" Ashley giggled, stoking my face with her hand. "I still think you're the hottest guy," Ashley whispered in my ear, making me blush, much to my brother's amusement.

"Can you see why I wanted to keep her asleep?" I asked with a sigh and Ashley laughed.

"You love me really Yves," She half sung. "Can I have a beer? I'll pay you back…I just really need another drink to stop the hangover…you know…like that 'hair of the dog that bit you' saying. "

"What part of 'my brother is a cop' did you not understand?!" I frowned disapprovingly.

"You're such a kill joy," Ashley rolled her eyes dramatically and standing up, swaying a little on her feet.

"Are you okay there, sweetheart? Want me to get you a glass of water?" Xav asked with a smile.

"No I'm good thanks…sorry I don't know your name," Ashley shook her head.

"Where are you going?" Uriel asked as she headed out of the living room and towards the front door.

"Cigarette!" Ashley called back before I heard the front door shut. My brothers exchanged looks of surprise and amusement whilst I just sighed and wondered how on earth I got myself in this mess. It was almost as though fate had a cruel way joining Ashley and my paths together. I had a horrible feeling that this wouldn't be the last time either.


	5. Chapter 5

**So i'm in a little bit of the rush at the moment and didn't have time to check through much :/ sorry guys! Also, i'm not totally happy with this chapter so i might go back and improve it but i wanted to post something today, so here you go :) please review**

**Ashley's POV**

"Oops!" I exclaimed and giggled to myself as I stumbled on the gravel driveway and had to catch myself before I fell over. My head was spinning, making in incredibly hard to light the cigarette since I kept missing it.

"You know that will kill you, right?" A deep, disapproving voice from over my shoulder spoke.

"Maybe that's the point," I replied with a shrug, breathing in the fumes before breathing it out over my shoulder so the wind would carry it away.

"But that's so stupid," Yves retorted, looking slightly disappointed in me.

"Live for the moment, babe. I take it you don't want one?" I chuckled. Yves was so adorably uptight about everything. I imagined him to be a really great dad one day…not like mine at all.

"I'll pass thanks," Yves replied quickly.

"That's okay," I shrugged and took another drag.

"I don't suppose there's anything I could say to make you stop, right?" Yves sighed, standing closely behind me as though he was afraid I would fall down or something. To be fair, that wasn't a completely crazy scenario since the floor was already pretty wobbly.

"Nope."

"You're still under the age to smoke…and my brother is a cop. He sent me out here to make you stop."

"Better not mention to you brother that I smoked some weed earlier then," I winked and laughed at Yves horrified expression.

Yves frowned at me and sighed, something he had been doing rather a lot recently. I couldn't work out why he cared so much about how I live my life…I was nothing to him.

"I'll tell you what…I'll stop right now in exchange for something," I suggested with a smirk and Yves chuckled at my sudden change of heart.

"Go on…"

"I want to kiss you," I stated bluntly. It had been bugging me for days that Yves had showed absolutely no interest in me. Normally I was the centre of everyone's attention; the one everyone tried to get with. Not with Yves though. If I used my savant gift, Yves would be mine in seconds…but that felt like cheating. I wanted to win him over the proper way.

"Deal," Yves agreed surprisingly and I smiled. I stubbed out the cigarette and threw it away, walking towards Yves.

"Will you kiss me now?" I asked hopefully as I leaned against him, feeling suddenly very heavy and I need of someone to carry me. My head felt like the weight of a bowling ball.

"Hell no. It would be like licking an ash-tray. I just lied to get you to stop," Yves chuckled and I groaned. I should have guessed that he would be lying to me...he did give into my far too easily.

"Are you gay?" I asked curiously. I bugged me why he showed no interest in me what so ever. Maybe I just wasn't his type. He seemed like the kind of guy to go for shy, sweet girls who wore pretty dresses and blushed whenever someone said a rude word.

"No…I just don't want to kiss you. Are you surprised by that?" Yves asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

"People always want to kiss me," I told him but the words came out in more of a mush than I had planned in my head.

Yves sighed before quickly wrapping his arms around me. It wasn't until I felt his grasp that I realised that I was actually almost falling over.

"Maybe if you respected yourself a little more, then you might start attracting guys who don't just want to kiss you and ditch you," Yves said. I knew deep inside that he was right…I never do find the right guys…but this is just the way I am. I would hate to change myself just to attract a different kind of people.

"You're so sweet, Yves," I sighed, leaning against his chest even further. I could almost feel the toned, sculpted muscles beneath his chest. I could hear his heartbeat thumping a little quicker than normal.

"Right, let's get you inside, yeah?" Yves asked kindly before scooping me up in his arms, realising that I wasn't going to walk, and carrying me back into the house.

"My heart hurts," I told him as we went back into the living room where the pizza had now all disappeared.

"Well that's your own fault. You're not getting any sympathy from me," Yves retorted, placing me on the couch. "I'll get you some water."

I smiled gratefully and curled up on the couch, holding my hand to my head to still the dizziness.

"Thank you for taking care of me," I whispered to Yves brothers who I'm yet to learn the names of.

"Do you want to give your parents a ring so you can let them know that you're okay?" the eldest looking brother said, holding out his iPhone.

"I don't have parents," I replied, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Who do you live with?" Yves asked, coming back into the room and handing me some water.

"My sister, Stella."

"Well do you want to ring her instead?" The guy asked. I think he was the police officer Yves told me about.

"She went on holiday," I replied truthfully. Yves was frowning yet I don't know if he was annoyed at me or not. He seemed to be annoyed at me quite a lot lately.

"She left you all alone? When will she be back?" Yves asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled. All this thinking was making my head hurt. I just wanted to sleep it off and deal with the consequences in the morning.

"When did she leave?" Yves pushed. He was not dropping this.

"Like….6 months ago. I don't think she's coming back," I replied quietly with a shrug. "She didn't like me much anyway."

I was aware of all the looks I was getting from the seven boys who watched me. I was getting tired of it really…it was the kind of look you gave up to a screwed up girl with a screwed up family. I didn't need the reminder.

"Have you tried to contact her?" Another guy asked. The one with long hair.

"Yeah. She told me to grow up and stop acting like a baby," I slurred and chuckled, shutting my eyes. The lights in the room were really quite bright and it was making me sleepy.

"Do you have anyone else we can ring?" Someone asked. Wow…these guys really wanted to get rid of me.

"I only have my brother but he's in jail," I replied. Rex was my older brother and he was bloody terrifying. I hated him even more than I hated Stella.

"What did he get done for?" Zed asked.

"Second degree murder…he's going to be released in a few weeks. I'm scared of him," I mumbled, settling my head down on the couch and trying to block out the conversation.

Everyone was silent for the next few moments which I was relieved about. I felt like I was being interrogated for a crime. All I wanted to do was sleep…it felt like the effects of this evening were finally wearing thin and my body was slowly giving up.

"Can she just stay here for tonight? I'd worry if she's in her house alone in this state," I heard Yves ask and I smiled to myself. He was the nicest guy I've ever met.

"You're worried about me cutie?" I teased sleepily.

"Go back to sleep, Ashley," Yves replied. I felt like I was a kid being scolded by my parents or something.

"I'm sorry for being a pain in the ass," I mumbled. I wasn't only talking about today…I meant the whole last two weeks where I had constantly been getting on Yves nerves.

"That's okay, Ash, just go to sleep," Yves said, his voice softening slightly and I smiled to myself. This was possibly the first time in my life where I truly felt safe to fall asleep and I was in a room full of strangers. How messed up was that? I just knew that Yves would look after me. I've never been sure on much, but when it came to Yves' gentlemanliness, I was certain he would keep me safe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I just wanted to clarify that this story has nothing to do with any of my other stories :) Also, I will try my best to finish my other unfinished stories eventually but i might be a little slow to upload because i've got a tonne of things to do (sorry guys) Also, this story does contain swearing so i felt like i should give a warning :) Hope you like the next chapter! Enjoy and review**

Yves POV

"Wakey wakey, rise and shine," Xav sung loudly, drawing open the living room curtains and letting daylight flood in.

"You're such an asshole," I stated with a frown as Ashley whimpered and buried her head into the cushion.

"I remember you doing the same to me when I was hung-over," Xav replied with a smirk, heading out of the room. He returned a few minutes later with some hangover tablets and a glass of water.

"Good morning sweetheart," Xav said cheerfully, crouching down beside Ashley.

"It doesn't feel very good," Ashley mumbled. Her voice was slightly husky from the sleep but in a sexy way…kind of like you hear on movies.

"Take this, it will help," Xav told her, pushing the tablets into her hand and giving her some water.

"Who the hell are you?!" Ashley exclaimed after finally giving Xav a good look.

"You don't remember me?! You wound me, my love," Xav replied dramatically, holding his hand against his heart, much to the amusement of my brothers who had all stopped watching TV to watch Ashley instead since it was far funnier.

"Did we have sex?" Ashley asked sounding confused. Will burst out laughing, as did Zed.

"Babe?! We've been dating for like….2 weeks now! How can you not remember me?!" Xav asked, putting on an Oscar worthy act. If he wasn't so dead set on being a doctor, he should give acting a go.

"We have?" Ashley frowned.

"Quit messing with her," Victor chuckled.

"Holy crap…there's like seven of you….what the hell happened last night?!" Ashley panicked as reached under the blanket to check she was still wearing clothes probably.

"Relax, nothing happened," I said with a comforting smile.

"Yves?" Ashley frowned.

"I took you home after we saw you walking around in the dark, completely wasted," I explained and Ashley nodded slightly.

"Hold that thought….I'm gonna throw up," Ashley declared, standing up, swaying slightly.

"Whoa…go to the bathroom. Our mom will murder us if you throw up anywhere else!" Zed exclaimed, moving back slightly as though he was afraid Ashley would vomit over him. Part of me secretly hoped she would just because it would be funny.

"Jesus Christ," I mumbled, quickly jumping up and practically dragging her out of the living room and towards the bathroom.

I held Ash's hair in a loose pony-tail as she emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet. I was actually pretty grossed out when it came to people throwing up but I knew I couldn't leave her alone. She needed someone to look after her.

"I'm so sorry Yves…I'm such a pain in the ass…you can kick me out straight away If you want," Ashley mumbled, flushing the chain and wiping her mouth on toilet paper.

"Don't be silly," I replied, shaking my head. Ashley sat quietly on the floor against the wall with her legs drawn to her chest. Even like this, she was easily the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Most of her make-up must have rubbed off in the night, making her look younger and more innocent that what she did last night. Even her hair still managed to fall like a perfect golden waterfall, despite having just woken up.

"Why don't you take a shower or something…I'll get some clothes you can change into," I told her and she smiled at me.

"Do I look like shit?" Ashley asked, looking up at me with a wry smile.

"No," I told her honestly. "You always look nice."

I grabbed my smallest pair of jogging bottoms and an old top before returning to the bathroom. Ashley stayed sitting on the floor but smiled up at me when she saw me return.

"You're a good guy, Yves," she stated, pulling herself up and taking the clothes from me.

"Don't mention it," I chuckled. It wasn't really a big deal anyway…I'm sure anyone else would have done the same in my situation.

"Are you staying to watch the show?" Ashley asked seductively pulling the hem of her dress up a few inches to tease me.

"Uh," I mumbled, quickly shutting my eyes. "No…I'll leave…" I quickly turned around and shut the bathroom door behind me. I headed downstairs and prayed that the blush would have faded from my cheeks before my brothers saw me.

"How's your girlfriend doing?" Zed asked as I sat on the couch and took a few sips of Ashley's water.

"She'll live," I replied with a shrug. I'm pretty certain that she's dealt with worse hangovers before in life. "And she's not my girlfriend."

"She does seem awfully keen to be though," Will laughed.

"No, Ashley's like that with everyone," I explained.

"Damn, I wish she would be like that to me," Will replied with a low whistle and I glared at him. I didn't like the way he was speaking about Ash. I knew what Will's dating history was like and Ashley needed someone who wanted more than just sex.

"Chill Yves, I wouldn't take your girlfriend away from me," Will chuckled.

"Not my girlfriend…she isn't my type," I replied, getting slightly bored and irritated about having to repeat myself.

"What exactly is your type then, brother?" Xav asked and I groaned.

"You know…like the opposite to Ashley basically," I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, Yves…Ashley is hot. Admit it."

"Well she is…" I sighed, struggling to put it in words. "…Attractive…but…she's not my type. I prefer quiet, nice, shy girls," I replied, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. Was that true?

"Like Jenny?" Uriel asked with a smirk. Jenny was my ex-girlfriend I dated a couple of months back. She was pretty nice with short brown hair and glasses. I met her at an inter-school math competition at my school.

"Yeah, like Jenny," I replied, not mentioning the fact that Jenny wasn't the easiest person to talk to. She normally just got shy and gave me a one word answer making conversations pretty one-sided.

"Oh please, Jenny was as boring as fuck," Zed scoffed.

"Zed!" I shouted, slightly annoyed at how rude he was….even if it was kind of true.

"Yves!" I heard Ashley call from the bathroom upstairs.

"Yeah?!" I shouted back.

"Which colour is your toothbrush?!"

I groaned and quickly stood up, giving Zed a thoughtful look as I debated telling her the colour of Zed's toothbrush instead of mine.

"Don't even think about it," Zed said, catching onto my thoughts.

I sighed, giving in. "The red one!" I called back, making a mental note to buy a new toothbrush today.

A couple of seconds later, we all heard the key turning in the front door lock as our parents entered.

"Yves, you're explaining why Ashley is here," Uriel said quietly, with a small smile as though he was secretly looking forward to Ashley meeting my parents.

"Morning boys! How was your night?! I hope you didn't leave too much mess!" Mom called coming into the living room and beaming around at all of us. Mom loved it when we were all here together…it was just like old times before the older benedict's moved out.

"Our evening was interesting," Victor smirked. "How was yours? Did you enjoy the meal?"

"Oh it was lovely! You're father certainly knows how to spoil a lady," Mom chuckled, gazing lovingly in dads direction…soulfinders.

"Yves…oh…hello," Ashley spoke from the doorway behind my parents. I briefly closed my eyes, knowing that this was going to be difficult to explain to them.

"You must be Mr and Mrs Benedict, right?" Ashley asked, holding out her hand as a greeting. My dad awkwardly shook her open palm and my mother gave her a suspicious yet curious smile.

"And who might you be, dear?" Mom asked politely although I could tell she wasn't that pleased with Ashley's presence. Especially since she was wearing my clothes; she even manages to look good in them too.

"Ashley Summers."

"Yves girlfriend," Xav muttered and I glared at him.

"She's not my girlfriend, Xav!"

"Yeah, I wish," Ashley giggled and winked at me. "Your sons are absolutely charming, Mrs Benedict, better than I deserved anyway."

"Oh," Mom replied, not really sure what to say.

"Well…I better take Ash home now anyway…" I said awkwardly.

"Nonsense, I doubt the poor girl has eaten breakfast yet," Mom shook her head. Mom has a policy of 'if you're here during a meal time, I am going to feed you,' no matter who you are.

"Boys, go and start the breakfast whilst your mother and I unpack," Dad said and everyone quickly sprung up to go into the kitchen.

"Need a hand?" Ashley asked, following us into the kitchen. My jogging bottoms were a little big on her in length so she had to roll them up at the ankles.

"Can you cook?" Zed asked hopefully.

"Not at all…I can lay the table though?" Ashley suggested with a smile. Her hangover seemed to be wearing off quickly…either that or that she was so used to being hung-over that this was just the norm.

"Go ahead, it's the draw on the left of the cooker," Uriel said. He seemed to be taking charge of breakfast duty, dishing out tasks to the rest of us based on our cooking ability. People like me and Trace were designated for roles like pancakes or bacon cooking…where else the less skilled people like Zed and Will were instructed to get the maple syrup and OJ.

"Hey, you never told me you could cook," Ash said to me, watching curiously as I skilfully flipped a pancake and served it on a plate. You get a lot of practice with pancake flipping in this house since there are nine of us in total and most my brothers eat three or four at a sitting.

"Ash, we barely know each other," I reminded her with a chuckle. "But you should have assumed I'm good at cooking. I'm good at everything," I said with a smirk, knowing that it would purposely wind up my brothers by being arrogant. By the looks of it, I succeeded.

"Oh yeah…like I haven't beaten you at every kayaking race we've ever had," Zed scoffed.

"Not my fault you cheat," I shrugged innocently, knowing that would agitate him more.

"I do not!" Zed exclaimed.

"So the way you always manage to anticipate the next wave…that's just luck, is it?" Xav joined in, teaming up with me to wind up our younger brother. Fortunately, Ashley didn't look as though she picked up on Xav's hint to Zed's future seeing abilities. Never the less, Victor gave us all a stern look that spoke thousands.

"Careful," Victor murmured, almost inaudible yet it carried enough power to make us all shut up.

Once breakfast was finally made and served, we all squeezed around the table, practically touching elbows to eat. I could sense some private telepathic conversations going on between people which I chose to ignore since we were trying to be as less suspicious as possible due to Ashley's presence.

"So…it's Ashley, correct?" Dad spoke, clearing his throat.

"That's me," Ash chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you. My sons never mentioned that you were staying round last night," Dad said politely but I could sense the questioning in his tone, along with the suspicious look he gave me.

"I'm sorry; I didn't actually intent to stay the night. I just fell asleep. I don't mean to be rude," Ashley replied slightly awkwardly, sending me a look that silently begged me to help her out.

"I offered for her to sleep round, dad. It was late and she had no way of getting home," I said, telling a tiny white lie but it was better than explaining the state Ashley was in last night.

"Yeah dad, we couldn't_ beer_ the thought of making Ashley walk home," Xav spoke, purposely using the word beer to hint to our parents about Ashley's evening activities. "Oh…did I say beer? I mean, bare," Xav chuckled, winking at Ashley from across the table. Most of my brothers were silently laughing or trying disguising it in a cough so they wouldn't give her away.

"Yeah, it would be a _wasted _effort driving her home when she could just crash here," Will added, emphasising the word 'wasted'.

Mom and dad looked between us, frowning before dad just shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ashley.

"I probably don't want to know, do I?" Dad sighed, glancing at mom.

"I think that's for the best," Mom agreed, shaking her head at all of us.

Ashley was scowling at Xav and Will who were now stuffing their faces full of pancake to stop them from bursting out in hysterics. Ashley discretely held up her middle finger at the two of them and mouthed a much ruder way of saying 'go away.' It surprised me how easily she fitted in with my family, despite barely knowing anyone except me. She acted just like any other one of my brothers and didn't seem intimidated by them in the slightest. It took my ex-girlfriend jenny almost a month before she had an actual conversation with my family. With Ashley…it was almost like she was already part of the family…And that thought scared me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! I love to read them :) Someone asked me when i update this story and to tell the truth, it's kind of whenever. I hope to have a new chapter at least every week but sometimes I might do two a week or so :) Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!:) Please review!**

Ashley's POV

I woke up for the second time today by the loud thud of books being dropped on my desk, inches away from my head.

"What the hell, dude!" I complained loudly, glaring at Mr Donnelly who was glaring right back.

"You are one step away from being sent out, Ashley," Donnelly threatened.

"What?! I was listening, I swear!" I lied.

"Oh really? What was did I just say?" Mr Donnelly challenged.

I gulped, trying to think of the best way to get out of this without getting into trouble. I suddenly felt a tap on my leg under the table and glanced over to Yves who had written the word 'ESSAY' in capitals in the corner of his page before scribbling it out.

"You were telling us about those essays we have to write," I replied, crossing my finger's hopefully that Yves hadn't completely stitched me up here.

Mr Donnelly looked disappointed, as though kicking me out his class would have made his day...the sadistic jerk. I assumed that meant I was correct.

"Just get on with you work, Ashley," Donnelly muttered and returned to his desk, finally out of ear-shot.

"Thank you," I whispered to Yves who was still peacefully getting on with his work like nothing happened.

"Don't mention it, partner," Yves smirked and I frowned. What was he talking about?

"Huh?"

"You're my partner for the essay project," Yves explained. "We have to pick a novel and pick out our own themes and symbolism to write about."

"That sounds like my idea of hell," I mumbled.

"Well we're doing it together so you're going to have to get used to it."

"Can't you just put my name on it?" I begged hopefully. Yves looked like the kind of guy who would secretly enjoy writing this essay…I'm sure he wouldn't mind the extra work.

"No way, Ash, we're both doing it," Yves scoffed. "Now what book do you want to pick."

Throughout my childhood, books have never been a major influence in my life. Growing up with both my brother and father in a gang, you soon learn that it's much safer to live your own life rather than a fantasy book world you get caught up in. Good stuff doesn't happen to real life people like you see in books.

"Um…I'm happy with whatever you want," I replied quickly, not wanting to sound dumb since all the books I've read were children's books.

"No because I'll end up choosing something far too boring and complicated," Yves shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me, encouraging me to pick. "What's your favourite book?"

"I don't read books, Yves." I sighed; he was really no understanding this.

"You must have read one," Yves pushed.

I thought back to the few books I had read. They were all books I had read at school since I wasn't a good enough or motivated enough to read one in my own time. My grade 4 teacher used to read us a chapter of Peter Pan every Friday afternoon and that was a good book as far as I remembered. I realised that Yves was still waiting on an answer for me so I gave up.

"Peter pan."

Yves smiled and sat up a little straighter, seemingly pleased with my choice.

"That's a good book," he agreed. "Why did you choose it?"

"We read it in middle school…and Neverland seemed like a pretty cool place. I always wanted to go there," I replied. A family involved in gangs was enough to make any kid want to run away to a mysterious land with mermaids and pirates and stay young forever, not ending up as some gang whore/ drug addict.

"Not anymore?" Yves asked with a slight frown.

"It's just a story, Yves." I chuckled. "Real life is nothing like that." The pirates in Peter pan were nowhere near as scary as my dad's friends who would hang out at my house with guns in their hands and knives in their pockets.

Yves smiled slightly before nodding and ripping out a page of his notebook so he could start jotting down some ideas.

After class, I walked with Yves to the lunch hall because I hadn't really gotten around to making new friends just yet. There was a group that seemed like my type of people but Yves told me to stay away from them because they were bad news. I don't know why, but Yves seemed dead keen on getting me to behave nicely at school…I felt like his very own little project: Project Ashley- 'turning a bad girl good.'

"Where are you sitting at lunch, Ash?" Yves asked as we headed towards the canteen line.

"I dunno," I shrugged, glancing around the rapidly filling up hall.

"Sit with me and my friends. They're nice, I promise," Yves smiled. Yves was being awfully nice to me lately and I couldn't really work out why, other than the fact that we were project partners.

"Sure," I shrugged.

As the line got shorted, I stuck my hand in my pocket to see what kind of money I had. I manage to salvage a couple of quarters from numerous pockets which should be roughly enough for an apple or something. I did inherit some money after my dad passed away but no enough to survive long term. I quit my job a couple of weeks ago before I moved schools here meaning that I no longer had a steady income which meant that I had to be careful with spending until I found another one.

"Is that all you're getting?" Yves frowned, looking at the apple in my hand.

"Yeah."

"You're not hungry?"

"Nope." I shook my head and smiled at him. Yves just narrowed his eyes at me, trying to read my facial expression.

"You're lying."

I groaned. How could Yves manage to read me so perfectly?! Up until now, I'd always thought of myself as a pretty good liar but Yves could always see right through me.

"I didn't bring enough money, it's my fault," I said with a shrug, stepping forward to pay but Yves grabbed hold of my arm, stopping me from walking away.

"You should have just said, Ash. I would have paid," Yves said, looking concerned.

"I don't need you're pity, Yves!"

"It's not pity, Ash, I just want to buy you lunch, nothing wrong with that," Yves objected. I didn't know why it felt so wrong for him to treat me. When I went out, I didn't think twice if another man brought me a drink or took me out for dinner, but with Yves, I wanted to prove to him that I could manage on my own perfectly fine.

"No, it's your money, not mine," I replied stubbornly.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's the school canteen! it's not like a 5 star restaurant or anything," Yves scoffed, handing over the money for an extra portion of macaroni cheese and earning a scowl from the miserable old canteen lady.

"Yves…" I moaned, not wanting to be indebted to him.

"Relax, Ash, it's just pasta," Yves smirked as he carried both mine tray and his tray towards a table of people I didn't know. I tried refraining from checking him out as he walked ahead of me…but boy did his ass look good in those jeans.

The sound of laughing quickly shook me out of my appreciation of Yves's hotness as I glanced in the direction of the noise. Zed was laughing to himself whilst looking at me before turning back to his friends. What was his problem? Was it that obvious that I was checking out his brother?

"Hey, guys this is Ashley," Yves introduced, sitting down at a bench and gesturing to me to sit beside him. Numerous people mumbled greetings in return and I just smiled politely, unsure of what to say. I felt a little out of place here to be honest; the people at this table were the smart, pretty people who somehow managed to be blessed with decent looks as well as intelligence.

"That guy there, that's Ben. He's a computer genius so if you ever need to hack someone's Facebook account, he's the guy to talk to," Yves explained, pointing out a boy opposite with light blonde hair and a mischievous smile. I nodded and smiled politely, internally planning all the revenge statuses I could write if he managed to hack my sister's account for me.

"This is Katie; she's the artiest one of us. I've known Katie the longest, like since we were little tots," Yves chuckled, smiling at the shy looking girl with dark black hair and olive toned skin. She smiled sweetly at me before going back to the pink iced cupcake she was eating.

"And that's Amber. Amber's kind of new to the school to, she's moved here last year. She's on the cheer squad and softball team," Yves explained.

"Nice to meet you guys," I smiled politely, feeling kind of nervous for some reason.

"Well tuck in then…trust me, the mac and cheese tastes even worse when it's cold," Yves said, pointing to the tray in front of me.

"Thanks, Yves," I smiled. He was right; it wasn't the best tasting meal in the world but I didn't expect much coming from a school canteen. Canteens often go for quantity over quality.

The rest of lunch actually went surprisingly smoothly. Ben was very nice, always including me in conversations and explaining private jokes. I learned that Katie was in both my drama class and my biology class. She didn't talk as much as the others but I assumed she was just quiet. Amber was the only one who seemed a little bit off with me. It felt as though she was looking down her nose at me, but I got that a lot from people so it wasn't anything new.

Everyone one in my old schools looked at me as if my entire family were vermin…and to be fair, they had a point. My dad's gang was pretty well know and disliked in my old town, meaning that I had to put on an act of being tough to avoid getting shit from the other kids at school.

I was like a toasted marshmallow; tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Only people who knew me knew that I wasn't as hard as I make out.

I wondered if Yves liked marshmallows...


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! Thanks again for all the reviews! Especially StarsGlow! I love reading them all! This chapter is extra long today because i was originally going to split it up but then I thought nah, so i hope you enjoy it! :D please review!**

Yves POV

"Yves! You know you're my favourite brother in the whole world?!" Xav asked loudly, bursting into my bedroom early in the Saturday morning and diving on my bed, making the whole mattress shake.

"I'm not covering your shift," I chuckled, quickly guessing where all this sweet talk was leading to. Xav was so transparent.

"Damn it Yves! Go on, do me a favour!" Xav groaned. "I feel poorly…my throat hurts," Xav pouted and held his throat, pretending to be ill.

"I heard you singing 'smooth criminal' at the top of your lungs this morning, your throat is not sore," I chuckled, not falling for Xav's lies.

"Awh! But it's not like you have anything better to do!" Xav moaned, still pouting like a spoilt child…not a twenty year old man.

"I'm going skiing," I decided on the spot, not wanting to give Xav a reason to bully me into taking his shift at the ski lifts.

"Really?" Xav frowned. "You never go skiing."

"First snow-fall of the year. I'm going to enjoy it," I smiled, pointing out of my bedroom window where tiny white snowflakes were fluttering down to the ground.

"Ugh…I'll ask Zed," Xav rolled his eyes before sulkily walking out of my bedroom.

Once I made the spontaneous decision to go skiing, I was actually pretty looking forward to it. It wasn't completely cold outside but I didn't fancy the wet jean feeling so I opted for waterproofs, even though the inside of our house felt like a sauna. Mom always loved to keep the house at the same temperature as the equator.

"I'll see you later, mom, I'm going on the slopes," I called, heading into the kitchen to briefly kiss my mother on the cheek.

"Be careful darling," My mom replied with a slight frown. It really worried me when mom said stuff like that because she could see into the future. It was concerning that she saw something that needed her to inform me to 'be careful'. Both mom and Zed often see what happens to us Benedicts but often are unable to do anything to prevent it in fear that it could result in a worse scenario taking place.

It was fairly busy on the slopes since half of Wickenridge must have had the same idea of catching the slopes on the first fall. Fortunately for me, mom and dad practically brought us up on skis; I knew all the best, quiet routes to go to avoid clumsy children and shrieking adults.

"Yves! Hey! Good to see you making the most of this weather!" Tina from the year below shouted, leaving her place at the front of the ski lift queue to join me at the back. Since our school is so tiny, I knew most of the people in the year below.

"Well it's quite literally on my doorstep so I thought I better make the most of it," I replied with a smile. "Although I think Xav's working on the lifts so he's missing out."

"Ah man, that sucks! Poor Xav, he's really into skiing, isn't he?" Tina said although I got the feeling that she already knew that. Tina seemed to know a scarily large amount about my brothers and me, as though we were local celebrities or something.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "He has tomorrow off so he can't complain too much."

I rode up in the ski lift with Tina, chatting about school and general small talk conversations until we reached the top where she caught up with the rest of her friends.

"See you later Yves! Have fun!" Tina waved as she clipped her feet into the skis and held onto Nelson to stop him from falling over.

The next hour ran pretty smoothly as I got back into the swing of skiing. It's almost like riding a bike in the sense that once you learn, you can never forget, yet at the same time, it takes a few hills just to get used to the feeling. I was nowhere near as good as Xav on skis but that never really bothered me since I didn't like to go too fast. I was more of a carefully cautious kind of skier. Most of my class were already out here on the slopes so I stopped and chatted with a couple of friends on the way down before returning on the ski lift to get back up to the top.

The next time round, I decided to take a quieter and less conspicuous route where Xav showed me a couple of years back. This was one of my favourites since the lining of trees on either side of the passage way gave the illusion of skiing through a tunnel. Also, the hill was a little steeper here, allowing you to go a little faster without the worry of knocking over a beginner or a child.

The sound of screaming suddenly drew me out of my appreciation of the wildlife and back into reality. I quickly turned my head around to see where it was coming from, which is hard enough to do on skis without flying into any trees, so I slowed down to a stop. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the flash of pink gaining speed at a terrifying rate. I realised that there was no way around this; the best way I could deal with the situation was to brace myself and hope she skis around.

She didn't move around me.

She hit me harder than a ton of bricks dropping from a thirty story building, knocking me straight off my skis and throwing me a good few meters down the hill. The two of us rolled down the snow slope with our limbs entangled like you see in cartoons…except this was way more painful. There was the frequent muttering of swear words, shrieking and groans before we finally stopped rolling and landed in a cold, painful heap.

"Owww!" The girl whined. I knew I should probably help her or at least ask if she was okay but I didn't feel any better off myself. I could taste blood running over my lips and a splintering pain coming from my nose.

"Why didn't you move out of the way?!" The girl exclaimed. I could feel myself growing angry over what she just said. She thought it was my fault for not moving out the way?! She was the one who practically aimed to hit me! It was as though I had a target painted in red on my back or something.

"This is my fault?!" I exclaimed. "You're the one who can't ski properly!"

"Don't shout, my head hurts," The girl moaned.

"So does my face…" I trailed off, using my coat sleeve to try and wipe up the blood that was oozing down my face.

The girl sat up and pulled of her skiing goggles, staring at me on horror.

"Ashley," I groaned. Of course it would be her that hits me. So much for trying to avoid the crazy girl…It felt as though our fates were twisted together.

"Yves?!" Ashley exclaimed, shifting in the snow so she was closer to me. "Oh shit! Your face is literally covered in blood!" I could see horror shining in her sky blue eyes which concerned me since I could actually see the damage done, I could only feel it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, feeling obliged to check…even though I'm pretty sure that I came out worse in the skiing collision.

"I'll live," Ash shrugged. "Do I need to call someone? You look like you're in pain."

I rolled my eyes at her, still managing to keep my sarcasm even if I was in pain. "Oh really? Did the blood gushing down my face give it away?!"

"Don't yell at me! It's not like I aimed to hit you! You we're just in the way!" Ashley yelled back.

I sighed, slowly, sitting up and letting my scarf soak up most of the blood that trickled down my lips and chin. I hobbled over too where my skis ended up and clipped in my feet.

"Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, Ash. Let's just find my brother, he'll sort us out," I stated before holding out a gloved hand to help her stand up.

"Where will he be?" Ashley asked, clipping her feet into the skis before screaming louder than a character in a horror movie as she slipped and fell back on her butt.

"Who knows," I sighed and pulled Ashley up a second time, this time keeping hold of her so she wouldn't fall over again. Ashley was like a baby giraffe on skis; all limbs and not a lot of balance.

As the two of us skied back down the hill, bruised and bleeding, I discovered the reason of why the collision happened in the first place; Ashley was the worst skier I knew. Thankfully, we were almost at the bottom anyway, but I still had to practically hold onto her the whole way down to prevent her from skiing into people or trees or fences.

This time, I didn't bother queuing up for the ski lift and marched straight to the front of the queue, ignoring all the strange looks I was getting for my bloody face. Surprisingly, Zed was actually sitting at the ticket booth of the ski lift, despite it being Xav's shift.

"Where's Xav? I thought he was supposed to be working?" I asked as soon as I got to the front. Zed's eyes widened once he saw the state I was in before quickly snapping out of his shock.

"We traded shifts. He's at the café," Zed replied quickly. "What the hell happened to you?!"

"Ashley cannot ski to save her life," I explained with a sigh as Ashley awkwardly stood beside me.

"There's a ski lift in a couple seconds, try not to drip blood everywhere because Dad will make you clean it up," Zed warned. I pulled Ashley past the ticket booth and quickly into a ski lift where I could sit down and catch my breath since not breathing through my nose proved more difficult than it sounds.

"I'm sorry Yves," Ashley said softly as soon as we got into the ski lift and begun the slow, gradual journey up to the café at the top of the slopes.

"I'm fine," I lied. "How's your head?"

"Fine," Ashley replied although I didn't think she was telling the truth.

"So…the snow's pretty exciting, huh," I said into the silence that fell over the two of us. I guess it wasn't the best time to have a conversation on the weather but it felt weird when Ashley was quiet.

"I guess…although I don't think skiing is my thing. Next weekend, I'm sticking to shopping," Ashley told me with a small wry smile. I couldn't help but to feel relieved after hearing this, not just for her safety but for mine too.

Once we arrived at the top, I followed Ashley into the café and scanned my eyes around until I found my brother, sitting with a large group of friends at a table. Surprisingly, the little log-cabin café wasn't as busy as I would have guessed. The dimly light lights and pictures that decorate the wall gave it a pretty homely feel and was often a popular hanging out point for people at school.

"Xav, a little help?" I asked hopefully, drawing his attention away from the pretty girl he was talking to and to the two of us.

Xav frowned when he turned to look at me, wincing slightly. "What did you do?!" Xav exclaimed, immediately leaving his friends and dragging me to the back of the café where the tables were still empty.

"Skiing collision," I replied, sitting down on the sofa and tilting my head back to reduce the blood flow.

"I take it you were involved too?" Xav raised his eyebrow at Ashley who smiled sheepishly, taking the seat next to me.

"Ashley hit her head," I informed Xav since he would probably know what to do. "Sort her out first, yeah?"

"No, sort out Yves first…he looks like bloody Mary," Ashley retorted immediately.

"Humour me, Ash, please," I sighed, not wanting another argument with her. "And by the way, Bloody Mary was named for persecuting protestants, not because she was covered in blood," I added. I just couldn't help myself sometimes.

"Know-it-all," Xav scoffed before moving over to Ashley to gently prod around her head to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt.

"So are you a doctor?" Ashley asked curiously, watching Xav's deeply concentrated expression.

"Doctor in training," Xav grinned. "Apart from a bump on the head, you should be alright," Xav told her. "I'll get you something cold to put on it." Xav turned, heading over to the counter to speak to one of the barristers.

Xav returned a couple of minutes with two clothes, both filled with ice cold snow. He handed on to Ash to hold against the already forming bump and one to me who as I bloody nose.

"So, care to enlighten me how you managed to break my little brother's nose?" Xav asked Ashley with a smirk as he gently touched the bridge of my nose. I instantly felt the cool, tingly sensation of Xav's healing gift as he took away the pain.

"It's actually broken! Oh shit, Yves, I'm so sorry!" Ashley gasped. "You need to go to the hospital! Oh my god…I'm so sorry!"

"Relax, its fine," I replied, my voice sounding all nasally. Suddenly Xav applied pressure on my nose and I felt a bone move and click back into place which made my stomach feel queasy since I was quite squeamish in this kind of situations.

"Ouch! Xav! That hurt!" I yelled, blinking back the tears that formed in my eyes.

"Oh man up, Yves, there's a girl present," Xav laughed, not sounding sympathetic at all.

I glanced over to Ashley who was muttering "I'm so sorry," over and over again, working herself up into a panicked frenzy, making me slightly concerned over her well-being.

"Ashley, it's fine," I told her, even though it didn't feel like fine.

"No it's not!" Ashley replied, fumbling through the pockets of her coat and pulling out an Asthma inhaler.

"Are you okay?" Xav asked Ashley whose breathing was all over the place.

Ashley nodded, before breathing in and spraying the Asthma pump into her mouth and shutting her eyes for a couple of seconds before breathing again.

"I never knew you had Asthma?"

"I know…it's kind of lame," Ashley sighed, taking a few more deep breaths to try and steady her breathing. "I'm sorry, Yves."

"If you apologise one more time, I swear to God…" I trailed off not really knowing how to finish the threat.

After about five minutes, the pain had almost disappeared completely, thanks to Xav, and I could almost feel the bones fixing back into place which was kind of disturbing. Of course, to Ashley, my brother touching my nose for a prolonged period of time would look kind of weird so Xav pretended he was holding the cold pack of snow against my face.

"So I take it you aren't a very experience skier," Xav chuckled, trying to make conversation with Ashley.

"It's my first time on skis…I'm stilling trying to get a hang of, you know, stopping," Ashley shrugged, sending me an apologetic look.

"You're first time?! Ash you were on a red route! On your own! You could have been seriously hurt!" I exclaimed. Skiing wasn't exactly the safest sport, especially if you didn't know what to do. I could imagine what would have happened if Ashley fell and got hurt and I wasn't there to take the brunt of it.

"I wasn't on my own…I'm kind of on a first date," Ashley chuckled nervously, glancing towards the café door as though she was waiting for someone.

For some reason, hearing this pissed me off a little. I knew that Ash was only a girl I had to do a project with, nothing more, but the fact that she was dating some other guy annoyed me.

"Who?" I asked with a frown.

Ashley smiled guiltily before pointing towards the doorway at the guy who had just walked in.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all the positive feedback! So here's the next chapter and i hope it's alright :) I put the end of the last chapter at the beginning just encase you forgot where we left off :D Also, there is some bad language in this chapter, just to warn you because i know that some people don't feel comfortable with curse words but i wanted to make this story as realistic as possible. Enjoy and don't forget to review! :D**

_"I wasn't on my own…I'm kind of on a first date," Ashley chuckled nervously, glancing towards the café door as though she was waiting for someone. _

_For some reason, hearing this pissed me off a little. I knew that Ash was only a girl I had to do a project with, nothing more, but the fact that she was dating some other guy annoyed me. _

_"Who?" I asked with a frown. _

_Ashley smiled guiltily before pointing towards the doorway at the guy who had just walked in._

* * *

><p>Ashley's POV<p>

"Oh hell no," Xav breathed under his breath, staring at my date who had just walked into the café.

I met Jake at a bar last weekend and he bet me that if he could beat me at a game of snooker, then I had to give him my number. I knew I wasn't very good at snooker but I agreed never the less. I would never pass up a bet. The amount of times I've ended up in hospital or a police station because I wouldn't back down from a bet is unreal.

So long story short…Jake text me and asked if I wanted to go skiing with him. I agreed, obviously, ignoring the fact that I had much more balance on my feet rather than skis. Jake was actually really hot which is part of the reason why I agreed, as shallow as it sounds. He had dirty blonde hair and mischievous green eyes…the kind that you can just tell he was a bad boy from staring at them. He was my usual type; leather jacket, motorbike riding player.

Xav and Yves were looking at me as though I was a child who had just done something wrong….like stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"What?" I hissed with a frown.

"You're dating that jerk?!" Yves demanded, looking pretty pissed. Why did he care who I dated?

"We're not dating…yet," I shrugged, waving at Jake to come over.

"Seriously Ash, you can do better than Jake," Xav told me with a matching frown. The way Xav spoke Jakes name made it sound like a curse word.

"How do you know Jake?" I asked with a frown. I knew Wickenridge was a small town and all but Jake and the Benedicts were from two completely different worlds.

"He's pretty well known for being a player around here," Yves replied with a frown. "Him and Xav are like skiing rivals so they hate each other's guts," Yves explained.

"So this is all about a skiing feud?" I raised my eyebrows and laughed since that seemed like a petty reason.

"Not just a feud…that guy is an asshole."

"What the fuck happened to you?!" Jake laughed loudly; sitting beside me at the table, having not yet acknowledges Yves and Xav's presence.

"I crashed," I explained, sending yet another guilty, apologetic look to Yves who was still holding a cold pack to his bloody nose.

"Into Yves Benedict? Nice one, Ash," Jake chuckled, not sounding sarcastic at all. In fact, he actually sounded pretty please.

"If you looked after your girlfriend better, this wouldn't have happened," Yves said quietly, glaring angrily at Jake who was smirking.

"Oh please, Ashley can take care of herself," Jake scoffed, winking at me. Could I take care of myself? Judging by Yves bleeding nose, I would disagree.

"You left a beginner all on her own on the red slope! You're lucky my brother was there to help her at all!" Xav exclaimed, now also glaring at Jake.

"Didn't look like he was much help," Jake chuckled.

"Actually Yves was pretty great," I replied, sticking up for Yves. It seemed unfair that Jake was giving him stick about something that was entirely my fault. Actually, a lot of the situations Yves and I got into tended to be my fault.

"Don't stick up for that loser, babe," Jake told me sternly and I frowned slightly. Who the hell was he to tell me what I should do? If Jake knew anything about me at all, it was that I didn't listen to anything people told me.

"I may be a loser but at least I'm not an arrogant prick that only cares about himself," Yves muttered. Curse words sounded so wrong coming out of such a good mouth like Yves.

This obviously was not the right thing to say and judging by Jake's facial expression, I doubting he was going to let it slide.

"What did you call me?!" Jake demanded, standing up quickly and knocking the chair back so that it hit the wooden floor, silencing the whole café with a bang.

"Oh you heard me alright, asshole," Yves scoffed, not seemingly worried in the slightest, despite the fact that Jake was a couple of inches taller and had fists the size of Hulk. He had guts, I'll give him that…I just thought he would have more brains than to pick a fight with someone like Jake.

"Do you want I black eye with that broken nose of yours?!" Jake shouted, now drawing the attention of most of the café who was sipping their mochas and cappuccinos, whilst watching as though they were at the theatre or something. Yves simply smirked, looking surprisingly amused by this whole situation, showing me a completely different side of him. I kind of assumed that Yves would have been kind of a wimp but he was certainly proving me wrong.

"If you lay a finger on my brother, I will break your face," Xav threatened darkly, also standing up to face Jake.

"Stay the fuck out of it, Benedict," Jake practically spat, giving Xav a hard push, knocking him back a few steps.

That's when all hell broke loose; Xav and Jake started properly attacking each other on what was a pretty even fight.

"Ah hell," Yves sighed, about to get up and break the fight up but I stopped him.

"No, you're staying out of this, Yves Benedict. No more broken bones for you," I scolded. Yves didn't seem very pleased with this arrangement but I quickly stood up before he could protest to break up the fight.

"Hey Jake! Get the hell off my friend!" I yelled, trying to pull him off Xavier, despite the fact that Xavier seemed to be holding his own pretty well.

"Why are you even friends with these losers, Ash," Jake asked, stepping back and pushing me quite roughly against the table. It hurt quite a bit but there was no point crying about it; I've had worse in my life.

That was where I had enough. Jake may have a pretty face but his personality reminded me an awful lot like my brother. In other words; there would be no second date. Yves was yelling at Jake for hurting me, Jake was yelling vulgar words at Xav and Xav was yelling at me to get out the way before I got hurt again. The café owner was yelling at all four of us to stop yelling and to get out.

I slapped Jake around the face to stop him from trying to attack Xav and Jake scowled at me before hitting me back. I felt the sting on my cheek as his palm connected with my skin and winced, glaring at him. He didn't hit me hard, I could tell he was holding back, but it still stung like a bitch. I'm all for equality and stuff but I thought he might at least have the decency to just suck it up and take the slap since he was the one who started the fight in the first place…obviously not.

I was brought up in a culture where this was normal. If I ever hit my brother or father, they wouldn't hesitate to hit me back. I knew Jake had a similar upbringing to mine so I wasn't exactly surprised by the outcome.

However, judging by the shocked and furious expressions of the Benedict's, they were not brought up with the same norms and values as I was.

"You bastard!" Yves shouted, looking as though he was ready to join in this fight but I just rolled my eyes, grabbing both Xav and Yves by their arms and dragging them away from jerkface-Jake before the café owner called the police. I smiled in amusement at the new name I had given him. Jerkface Jake suited him much better.

"Sorry for all the trouble," I called to the unhappy looking café owner before pushing both Xav and Yves out of the door and towards the ski lifts.

"Ash! Are you okay? I can't believe he hit you!" Yves exclaimed, lightly grazing my cheek with his fingers, leaving a warm feeling to spread over my face despite the coldness outside.

"I can," I scoffed. "You guys wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Yves replied as the three of us bruised and battered climbed into a ski lift.

"Not everyone was brought up with nice parents and good morals. If you lived half the life I have, you'd think its normal," I replied, not wanting to go into detail. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I hurt him more…I was wearing a ring," I smirked, holding up my decorative flower ring on my index finger of my right hand. I'm not married or anything, I just thought it looked pretty.

As we sat in the ski lift that carried us on the way down, I watched as Yves and Xav stared at each other as though they were having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"I'm sorry," I called out to break the silence. I did feel a large amount of responsibility for every incident that happened in the last half hour or so.

"Ashley stop apologising, it's not your fault," Yves replied with a sigh.

"Yeah, apart from your terrible choice in guys," Xav replied drily. He didn't look that battered up from the fight with Jake although I bet he was going to wake up aching.

"Hey, come here," Yves murmured, tugging me closer to him so I was standing under the light. He tilted my head to the side to check out the mark on my check.

"It doesn't hurt, Yves…I'm tougher than you think," I chuckled, letting him trail his fingers across my slightly swollen cheek. My skin tingled with every inch he stroked as though he was lightly trailing a feather across my cheek.

"Oh I know you're tough, Ashley Summers," Yves chuckled. "Just warn me the next time you go and fight some body, yeah? Especially someone twice your size."

"I'll give you a call if I need you to come to my rescue," I rolled my eyes jokingly even though I could tell Yves was not joking at all.

"I'm seriously, Ash, please just call me if you ever get into trouble," Yves said softly. "Give me your phone."

I stuck my hand into my pocket to fish out my ancient, brick phone nokia and handed back to Yves who was trying his best to hide his smile.

"Jeez, is that a phone or a weapon?! You could kill someone with that thing!" Xav joked, chuckling to himself.

"Watch it…or I might use it as a weapon against your head," I warned, making Xav laugh more.

"That phone must be older than America itself," Yves teased, staring at my phone as though it was a million year old fossil or something. Stupid stuck up Benedicts with their iPhones….

"Respect the phone…it's an antic," I muttered in reply, crossing my arms over my chest as Yves smirked and typed his number into the contacts.

As we got out the ski lift, we past a queue of people waiting to get on. Some of the first time skiiers were looking nervously at our bruise and Yves broken nose, probably contemplating whether or not they should turn back now.

"What the heck happened up there?!" Zed explained as we past the ticket booth.

"Jake Wright," Xav explained simply and Zed nodded as though he understood. I take it that Jake was a common enemy amongst the Benedict boys.

"Damn, I wish I could have seen that fight," Zed chuckled before going back to handing out tickets to customers.

"Are you coming back to our house, Ash?" Xav asked pleasantly as we headed out of the skiing resort.

"Nah, I've caused enough trouble for one day. I'm going to go home and binge on Netflix," I smiled politely. As much as I would love to go back to their house, I feel like I have overstayed my welcome slightly. Besides, I don't think Yves' mother would be too happy with me after finding out I broke her son's nose.

"Well, take care then. Call me if you do anything reckless and need saving," Yves chuckled. It felt good knowing that I had someone to take care of me. I probably wasn't his favourite person in the world, but I felt safer knowing that he would look after me.

"Will do," I replied was we drew closer to Yves and Xav's house.

"And Ashley?" Yves asked, stopping once he got to his doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Please don't date any more jerks," Yves grinned and Xav laughed, heading inside the house.

"Why do you care?" I asked curiously.

Yves shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me. "Because you can do better," he told me seriously before heading into his house and shutting the door behind him.

I couldn't help but smile to myself at Yves' comment the whole walk back to my apartment.


	10. Chapter 10

**Next chapter! :D I know things probably seem a little slow-paced at the moment in this story but i don't want to rush it and i want to build up the relationship between Yves and Ashley a little :) I hope you're enjoying this so far and thanks again for all the reviews! You guys are the best! :) **

Ashley's POV

It had been a week since the skiing incident and by Friday, I had finally stopped apologising to Yves about hurting him. Either he healed remarkably quickly or his brother was an incredible doctor, because by Friday, he looked like his usual smart, nice self. I have to admit, the bruise across his nose did give him a rather edgy look to his usual conservative appearance and I overheard more girls gushing over how hot he is this week than ever. The talk of the fight had been the hot-topic of gossip for a couple of days now. He should really be thanking me for increasing his romantic interests.

It had also been a week since Yves gave me his number and told me to call if I was ever in trouble. Unfortunately, I happened to be in trouble right now at seven o'clock on a Saturday morning. I located his cell number on my old nokia and held it to my ear.

"Yves?!" I asked, slightly frantically as I hurried down the street, carrying my high-heels in my hand since my feet were killing me.

"Ash? It's like seven in the morning!" Yves groaned, obviously just haven woken up.

"I need you to pick me up…please…," I begged, glancing around the unfamiliar, dodgy looking area. It was freezing outside and I was in nothing but a skimpy dress that barely covered my butt.

"Pick you up?! Where the hell are you?!" Yves demanded. I heard some shuffling around and the sound of a door opening on the other end of the phone.

"I don't know…I'm lost…I'm cold and scared and I don't know how to get home," I whimpered. People across the street were looking as though I was some cheap whore. Others looked lustfully as though I was an easy prey.

"Describe it to me," Yves demanded urgently. I heard the sound of car keys jingling and some voices in the background.

"Ugh…it's kind of a rough area…lots of flats…there's a bar on the left called Strawberry moon."

"Okay…any road signs? Street names?" Yves pushed. I heard another door shut and the sound of a car engine being started.

"Uhh…Colton road?" I said, turning the corner to get away from the two men who were carefully watching me from across the street.

"You're in Denver?!" Yves exclaimed.

"I don't know!"

"Okay…just stay there until I get there, okay? I'll try not to be long."

Half an hour later and Yves still hadn't arrived. I waited patiently for a little while longer and resorted to rubbing my legs together to try at generate some kind of warmth.

"Hey there baby doll," A deep voice sounded to my right and I jumped in surprise. An older man stood beside me with a lustful smirk on his face.

"Um…hi," I replied with a slight smile. My eyes nervously scanned the roads in hope Yves would turn up pretty soon.

"So how much does it cost?" He asked, moving closer towards me like a predator stalking his prey.

"How much does what cost?" I asked nervously.

"This body, of course," He purred, reaching out and stroking my waist.

"Um…it's not for sale…" I moved further away.

"Don't be shy now, doll…I've got money…I'll pay you upfront if that's what you want."

"I don't want your money!" I exclaimed, getting pretty pissed off now.

Suddenly the man shoved me up against the wall, closing the distance between us with his body.

"Don't get nasty, doll. Whores like you always want the money. Don't forget your place," He hissed, gripping hold of my waist tightly.

"Hey! Get your hands of her right now!"

I breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Yves voice and instantly relaxed, knowing that I was safe.

"Hey man, I got here first," The creepy old dude chuckled.

"How about, get your hands off my friend before I fucking break them," Yves spat furiously, ripping him away from me and standing protectively in front of me.

"friend?" the creepy dude chuckled, looking between the two of us. "Mate, you need to stop your friend from dressed like a two dollar prostitute." The man said, using finger quotation marks as he said the word 'friend.'

I grabbed Yves hand before he could say or do anything else and dragged him to the car. It was bad enough me causing one fight in a week, let alone two. I don't think Karla would forgive me if Yves came home with anymore bruises. I had never seen him this mad before and it was kind of scary. Yves didn't seem like the kind of guy who had would start fights often, I guess I just had that effect on him.

I climbed into the passenger seat and waited patiently for Yves to start the engine and drive the hell out of here. I noticed that he was only wearing tracksuit bottoms and an old shirt which looked as though he had slept in them.

"What the hell, Ashley?!" Yves exploded once we were away from the creepy dude. I didn't like it when Yves was angry. He had turned down the radio so the quietness inside the car made him sound louder.

"I'm sorry…you said I should call you if I was in trouble," I replied quietly.

"What were you thinking?! How on earth did you end up all the way in Denver?!" Yves shouted.

"I don't remember," I muttered. "I woke up next to some guy…I guess I must have gone home with him."

The look Yves gave me after I said that almost broke my heart. It was disappointment, mixed with disgust and anger. It was like he knew that I was too broken to even try and fix. I was just another messed up kid in the world.

"Why? Why do you do this to yourself?" Yves asked softly. He was gripping the steering wheel tightly and staring intently at the road ahead. "I told you last week…you can do better."

"I…I don't know…" I muttered, embarrassed.

It was silent for a couple of minutes before Yves awkwardly cleared his throat and glanced in my direction.

"Did you…you know…" Yves sighed deeply, not looking my way. "…Did you use protection?"

I flushed pink with embarrassment and Yves looked equally flushed. I felt like I was having a sex education class in fourth grade or something with Yves being my teacher.

"Yes. I'm not stupid," I replied quietly.

"Oh really?" Yves scoffed meanly before sighing and glancing at me. "Sorry…that was harsh."

"But accurate," I sighed and looked out the window. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Ash…just…please don't ever go home with a stranger again. It's stupid and dangerous…they could be a freaking psychopath for all you know."

"I know. I'm just…it feels good, you know?" I tried to explain.

"Sex?"

"Not just that…the feeling of someone loving you…even if it is only sex. It feels nice to have someone care about you," I said softly. He didn't have to agree, I just wanted him to understand. It's different for him; he has a loving family and friends and stuff…I don't have anyone.

"You just have to wait until someone special comes along. You're other half," Yves replied.

"You believe in soul mates?" I asked curiously. Yves seemed so logical about everything; I couldn't imagine him believing something as childish as soulmates.

"You don't?" Yves asked with a smirk.

When we arrived at Yves' house, he cautioned me to be quiet since Zed and Xav were probably still asleep. He said that his dad was working on the ski-lifts in the garage and his mom was giving lessons on the slopes.

"Ash?" Yves asked me quietly as he poured me a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your parents?" Yves asked gently. I could see him silently wondering how I turned out so screwed up. I guess it was kind of my parents fault.

"My mother was a stripper, and when she gave birth to me, she tracked down my father and gave me to him because she didn't want me," I explained. My dad told me that my mother's savant gift was to track down people from her past. I guess that must have been a pretty big surprise the day she turned up on my dad's doorstep, nine months later.

"So you never had a mother?"

"Well my dad had girlfriends in the past…but they were just…you know…like hooker girlfriends. Just sex, nothing more," I explained with a shrug.

"What about your dad?"

"He was in a gang at the time so I never really knew him. He barely spoke to me at all really. He was shot in a gang fight and died a couple of years ago," I replied. The look on Yves face suggested that he was horrified about my life story. I guess he would be, considering his sheltered upbringing. He never knew what it was like living life constantly in survival mode. Where I grew up, you had to constantly be in 'fight or flight' mode, because if you didn't, you were a goner.

"You said…your brother was in prison for murder…and you were afraid of him getting released," Yves said quietly.

"When did I say that?"

"That night when I took you home because you were drunk. I doubt you would remember."

"It was second degree murder. He got into a fight with this guy and killed him. He claimed it was accidental but I know Rex well enough to know that it probably wasn't the case. He's crazy," I sighed. It was no secret that Rex was crazy. Most of the guys in the gang were even afraid of him.

"Sorry," Yves said. "I hope you don't think I'm nosey."

"Not at all, besides, you don't really know much about me, considering that I know everything about you," I smiled.

"Do not!"

"Do too!" I replied childishly and Yves grinned as though this was a challenged.

"Okay then, what's my favourite colour?" He asked and I smirked.

"Red." It was actually a total guess…I just assumed it was red because his toothbrush was red when I borrowed it. Judging by Yves surprised face, I was right.

"Lucky guess…what's my favourite book?"

"Awh man, that's low. You know I can only name about three books right?" I rolled my eyes and nudged his ribs.

"I win," Yves smiled smugly.

"You're such a child," I accused.

"Wrong. I'm actually one of the more mature benedicts," Yves replied smugly.

"Yeah bloody right, just last night you got into a physical fight with Zed over the TV remote," Xav scoffed coming into the kitchen in only his boxer shorts.

"Morning Ashley," Xav smirked, giving me a flirty smile before turning on the coffee machine.

"Put some clothes on, there's a lady present," Yves frowned at Xav who was leaning against the work-top, obviously showing off his muscles.

"Yeah, you slut," I chuckled, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Coming from the girl in last night's dress," Xav shot back with a laugh.

"Touché," Yves chuckled

I flipped both of them off. "Oh please, like you guys have never had a one night stand before."

Xav burst out laughing, not denying it where else Yves just looked slightly embarrassed.

"Anyway, do you mind if I get changed into some clean clothes? I think I smell funny," I wrinkled up my nose in disgust.

"That's the smell of regret mixed with bad choices," Yves smiled smugly and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Ha ha very funny," I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. "Would you kindly get off your high horse and fetch me some clothing."

"Why of course, Madame," Yves replied with a fake French accent and pulled me out of my seat and towards the door.

"I may also need to borrow some of your underwear if that's okay. I couldn't find mine when I woke up this morning," I added awkwardly. The sound of Xav's laughter was loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood.

"Too much information, Ashley," Yves groaned and I couldn't see his expression but I bet 10 bucks he was rolling his eyes. He tends to do that a lot when I speak. However, I was 75% certain that it was done in an affectionate way...if he hated my guts, i probably would still be wondering around Denver in last nights dress.


	11. Chapter 11

**It's me again! Here's the next chapter of the story :) this is a little bit of a filler chapter because i dont want to jump into anything too quickly :) Next chapter will be extra long and you will see what Ashley's gift is :) Make sure you review, favourite, follow and stuff :) Thanks for reading this story! I hope you like it! :D**

Yves POV

"Do you want your underpants back or shall I just keep them?" Ashley asked loudly as we returned back downstairs after I leant her some more clothes after her shower. At this rate, I won't have any left for myself.

"Did I miss something?" Zed asked Xav, having now woken up.

"Ashley misplaced her panties," Xav explained with a smirk.

"Whoa has Yves finally gotten laid?!" Zed exclaimed with a laugh. Normally I would let Zed's teasing slide but he knew this was an uncomfortable issue for me. Being 18 and still a virgin was not fun…especially when you have six other brothers who all brag about it to your face. I was waiting for the right girl and they didn't understand that. I gave Zed a hard shove into the wall, surprisingly catching him off-guard despite his mind-reading.

"Break it up, little brothers," Xav interrupted with a smirk. Xav loved being the eldest brother in the house since he liked to boss us around for a change.

"Ashley and I did not have sex," I told Zed.

"Unfortunately," Ashley added with a smirk. "Does that mean you're a virgin, Yves?" Ashley asked with an amused grin. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks and glared at my younger, smirking brother.

"Can we talk about something else please?" I begged Xav since he was the one most likely to take mercy on me.

"Uh…so what are everyone's plans for today?" Xav asked, moving the conversation swiftly onwards.

"Ashley and I have work to do," I stated, smirking at the look of confusion that crossed Ashely's face.

"We do?"

"Our English essay. Please don't tell me you forgot," I shook my head at her.

"I didn't forget…I just…had no intention of doing it," Ashley replied.

"Tough, we're going to do it and we're going to get an A," I told her.

"I don't get A's, Yves," She sighed. "People like me are lucky to scrape a D."

I hated the way she spoke about herself; as though she was in a completely lower category compared to me. She may not be the brightest of people but she certainly wasn't stupid and I refused to let her believe that.

"Just you wait, Ashley Summers, you'll be getting your first A before you know it," I smiled to myself.

Getting Ashley to do her work was much harder than I anticipated; I kind of felt like I was a teacher of a kindergarten class. Firstly, I had to ban Zed and Xav from the room since they were getting her all distracted. Then I had to ban any conversation that wasn't work related. She was worse than Xav on a sugar rush.

"Are we done yet?" Ashley asked hopefully. After about an hour of working, she had finally given up and resorted to doodling stars over her arms.

"No. We've only written the introduction, Ash," I chuckled before confiscating the pen from her hand.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"You'll get ink poisoning," I told her since it was something my mother used to tell me if I did the same.

"That's a myth," Ashley scoffed, but she stopped nevertheless, just in case I might have been right.

"Yvesssss….." Ashley whines, prolonging my name like Xav does when he's being annoying.

"Yes?"

"Can we stop now?! My brain is melting!" Ashley moaned, resting her head against my shoulder and looking up at me through her eyelashes, pleading me with those big blue eyes.

I sighed, feeling kind of mean to make her work any longer. I decided that the best way to get Ashley to work was by doing it into baby steps.

"Okay, we'll stop now," I agreed. "What do you want to do now?"

"Skiing?" Ashley asked with a smirk, making me laugh. Like the last time Ashley wasn't a total disaster or anything…

"I don't think my beautiful face could handle another broken nose," I joked arrogantly, making Ashley burst out laughing.

Around about lunch time, I decided to take Ashley home since she said she had, and I quote, "a lot of grown-up shit to be dealing with at home." When Ashley said that, she really meant that she had to go to the laundrettes and food shopping. She just wasn't the most eloquent with her words and phrasing but I actually found the way she spoke rather amusing.

Ashley sat in the passenger seat, assuming her designated role as the music controller, whilst I tried focusing on the road whilst driving. It was pretty difficult with the radio turned up full blast and Ashley singing as loudly as she possibly could.

"Can you not turn it down just a little?" I asked hopefully.

"No…I don't think I can do that, cutie," Ashley giggled and I rolled my eyes. I used to babysit my neighbours daughter sometimes and she acted a lot like Ashley. She was five.

"You're annoying," I groaned. "Left or right?"

"Left and then left again," Ashley directed and I turned around the corner into one of the more dodgy areas on the outskirts of Wickenridge.

"Stop!" Ashley yelled suddenly and I instinctively slammed on the brakes, causing us both to get thrown forward against our seatbelts.

"What?! What's wrong?!" I asked in a panic.

"Huh? Nothing's wrong. We're here," Ashley chirped cheerfully, unclipping her seat belt and grabbing her bag of clothes.

"Ashley! I thought it was an emergency! You scared me!" I scolded with a frown. I too unclipped my seatbelt and followed her out of the car into a run-down block of apartments.

"Chill out, Yves…you're far too uptight," Ashley giggled, climbing the staircase since the elevator was out of order.

"I'm not uptight!" I defended, feeling slightly offended by her comment. I could be fun if I wanted to. "I'm just cautious."

"Well stop being so cautious," Ashley chuckled.

As we passed down a corridor that looked as though it hadn't been redecorated since the 70s, I glanced questionably at the door on the end where loud shotguns and swearwords were being blasted out from the Television.

"Oh that's the landlord's house," Ashley shrugged. "He always plays video games at full volume. The guns shots aren't real," Ashley chuckled, not seemingly bothered by it at all. I felt like a complete snob but this whole apartment looked dirty and dangerous…not the kind of place I wanted Ashley to be living in.

"Ah shit!" I heard Ashley exclaim and I walked over to door she was staring at. There was a yellow notice attached to it, clearly warning her that if she doesn't pay her rent by the end of the week, she's out.

"Ashley…" I murmured quietly. Could she not afford to pay? I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I mean, she had a crappy family growing up and now she was all alone, struggling to afford a place to live.

"Oh don't worry about that," Ashley chuckled, ripping the notice off the door and screwing it up into a ball. If I didn't know her better, she would have looked completely okay about it. However, I knew Ashley and I could see the worry masked behind her 'happy-go-lucky' expression.

Ashley shoved the key into the lock before giving the door a hard shove with her hip to open it since it looked pretty stiff.

"You want to stay for a drink or something?" Ashley asked, heading straight into the kitchen and throwing the rent notice into the trash can.

"I'm okay thanks…I'm meeting up for a drink later with Will," I replied, curiously glancing around Ash's apartment. It was a pretty ordinary home with old looking furniture and an average degree of clutter. It didn't really seem to suit her crazy personality at all.

"Will as in your brother?"

"That's the one," I smiled. "So I guess I'll see you at school?" I smiled awkwardly.

"Yup, see you Monday," Ashley beamed at me. "Thanks again, Yves…you know…for everything."

Ashley was fidgeting with her fingers, glancing down nervously so that her face was partly hidden by a curtain of blonde hair.

"That's completely fine, Ash. You know you can come to me for help anytime…about anything," I told her honestly. After learning about her lack of family, I felt even more responsible for her well-being and felt the need to take care of her.

"Sure thing, cutie," Ashley smirked, smiling up at me.

"Take care, Ashley," I replied with a smile and turned to let myself out. 'Take care' seemed much more appropriate than just 'good bye,' judging by the amount of trouble she seemed to get in.

I didn't go straight home like I probably should have. Instead, I followed the noise of violent video games to the apartment at the end and knocked loudly on the door.

A couple moments later and the door swung open, revealing a middle aged man in pyjamas that were covered in un-recognizable stains which I'd rather not attempt to identify. He was unshaven and looked unwashed and I felt very out of place here.

"What?"

"Um…hi…" I spoke with a frown. "I'm here to pay Ashley's rent.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Next chapter! :) hope you guys like it, leave a comment to tell me what you think! Thanks so much to everyone who reviews, favourites, follows and reads this story :) you guys are the best**

Ashley's POV

"Ashley!" Zed practically bellowed across the playground, almost making me drop my can of coke in surprise. I glanced up in his direction to see him gesturing for me to come over to him.

"You should go…You and Zed would make a good couple," Amber whom I was walking with said with a smile, flicking her auburn hair over her shoulder.

"Oh…we're not…no…you have it wrong," I mumbled quickly. "Zed is Yves' brother…that would be weird," I replied. I didn't mention the fact that I was much more interested in Yves than Zed.

"Aw but you two would be so good together. You're just Zed's type," Amber smirked.

"Type? What kind of type?" I frowned, not really liking the stereotype I was being given here. Why wasn't I Yves type?

"Oh you know like…you…" Amber chuckled, gesturing to the whole of me. I glanced down at my short skirt, black leather jacket and black boots.

"Oh…well we're not a thing and we won't ever be," I replied. Amber made a face like she didn't believe me.

"Whatever you say…I've got to go to cheer practice anyway…see you around."

With Amber gone, I headed off to where Zed and his friends were hanging out by their motorbikes, thankfully not smoking this time. I don't think Yves' stress level could have taken another incident like that.

"You called?" I asked with a smirk, watching as Zed leaned against the wall, staring right back. I wondered whether he practiced looking cool…maybe he stood in front of his mirror, practicing poses that make him look like the typical sexy bad boy.

"Amber has cheerleading at lunch," Zed stated obviously.

"I know. She told me," I replied.

"And Yves is at some chess club competition thing," Zed continued.

"And your point is?" I asked with a curious frown.

"Well, I wondered whether you wanted to hang out with us this lunchtime," Zed grinned and glanced at his friends who looked more than happy at the idea of me hanging with them at lunchtime.

"Are you trying to look cool by getting a senior to hang out with you?" I teased, making Zed glare at me.

"Like you could make me look any cooler!" Zed retorted. "Although…my mates would like to pull a senior," Zed chuckled.

The three guys in the leather jackets who were standing beside Zed gave Zed a playful shove.

"Don't tell her that!" A guy,who I remembered to be called Seth, exclaimed.

"What? It's true isn't it?" Zed smirked.

"Only if you want it to be true, babe," Seth turned towards me with a smirk.

"Oh honey, I hate to break it to you but you wouldn't be able to handle me," I replied to Seth. His friends howled with laughter.

"Wanna bet?" Seth raised his eyebrows suggestively, stepping closer to me so that I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Down boy," I chuckled stepped away to face Zed again, giving him a 'keep your friends under control' look.

"Seth, leave the poor girl alone," Zed chuckled and Seth laughed, finally stepping back.

"So…what do you guys do at lunch time…just…stand around?" I asked curiously. Maybe they just stood around and practiced their smouldering smirks to give to hot girls that passed by.

"Take a seat, princess," Zed smirked, gesturing to his bike. I smiled and climbed up onto the leather seat of Zed's motorbike, immediately feel a lot more comfortable.

"Head's up," Zed warned before chucking me a bag of pretzels and smiling.

"Thanks," I replied, tucking in straight away.

"You're welcome. How opposed are you to conversations about girls, sex and football?" Zed smirked.

"In fact, those are my favourite conversation topics," I replied.

"Well then you'll fit right in," Zed smiled.

I actually enjoyed myself with Zed and his friends this lunchtime. I felt much more comfortable than when I was with Yves friends. Don't get me wrong, Yves friends are lovely…I just couldn't really keep up with their intelligent conversations about quantum physics or whatever. Okay, maybe they wasn't taking about that exactly but it sounded smart, whatever they were saying.

Zed's maths teacher was off sick so he got the last lesson off with cover work to take home…and I kind of decided to skip my last lesson to hang out with him and his friends a bit longer.

Yves was so going to kill me.

My last lesson was supposed to be English with Yves but the idea of spending a whole hour with stupid Mr Donnelley constantly picking on me in class made me want to skip…so I did.

"I'm so dead when Yves finds me," I moaned to Zed who was finding the whole situation amusing. He was the one who encouraged me to bunk my lesson in the first place…I'm going to blame him.

"Why wait…he's already heading over here," Zed chuckled and I glared at him, trying my best to hide from Yves. Obviously, I couldn't just turn invisible (although that would be a pretty awesome power) so I realised I better just suck it up and face the wrath of Yves.

"Ashley Summers, you better be sick or so help me I will make you wish you were," Yves called and I groaned, turning around to give him my sweetest, most angelic smile.

"Yves! Sweetheart! How lovely it is to see you!" I exclaimed, standing up and hugging him quickly, hoping that that would sweeten him up a little. "Go easy on me…please," I whispered in Yves ear before pulling away with a guilty smile.

"Go easy on you?! After you left me in English and chose to hang out with my brother instead!" Yves exclaimed, glaring at his little brother.

"It was totally Zed's idea," I replied.

"Hey! You didn't take much persuading!" Zed exclaimed.

Surprisingly, Yves just sighed and shook his head at the two of us like a disappointed parent.

"Zed, stop being such a bad influence and Ashley…you should have known better."

"So you're not mad at me?" I asked with a frown, slightly surprised at how nice Yves was being.

"Oh yeah, I am super mad. But you're going to make it up to me by coming back to my house so I can supervise as you catch up with all the work you missed," Yves smirked.

"Nooo!" I moaned, resting my head against Yves shoulder. "Don't make me…school is over…that means no more work!"

"You should have thought about that before you bunked class then," Yves chuckled. "Zed, are you making your own way home?"

"Actually, Seth's borrowing my bike to get home since his is getting fixed. If you don't mind, a lift home would be nice," Zed smirked, probably feeling relieved at Yves sudden relaxed attitude.

"Sure thing, brother," Yves chuckled, pressing the button on his car keys to unlock the car.

"Shot gun!" Both Zed and I shouted simultaneously. It was almost as though he had read my mind to know exactly what I was going to say and when i was going to say it.

"Ash can take shot gun," Yves called, heading to the car whilst Zed and I followed.

"What?! No fair! Bros before hoes, dude!" Zed exclaimed.

"Hey! Who are you calling a hoe?!" I shouted back, giving Zed a hard shove.

"Ash is sitting in the front because she's a lady and I'm being a gentleman," Yves chuckled, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Yes! Suck on that, asshole!" I exclaimed, making a 'loser' sign with my hand and pointing it to Zed.

"Even though Ashley doesn't act like a lady," Yves muttered under his breath, making both Zed and I laugh.

I always liked watching Yves drive…he looked extra hot whilst concentration on the road. Even the little things he did, like tapping on the driving wheel whilst waiting for traffic fascinated me. It was like he had everything under control and he knew it.

"Yves, you might want to slow down a bit," Zed cautioned from the back seat.

"Relax, I'm not going to crash. I'm not that much over the limit," Yves replied, not taking his eyes off the road. It surprised me that Yves drove fast since it contrasted against his whole 'goody-two shoes' attitude. I knew he wasn't driving fast to show off in front of me because Yves wasn't that kind of guy.

"No I meant slow down because there are police-" Zed begun but the sound of police sirens sounded before Zed had the chance to finish his sentence.

Yves swore quietly under his breath before slowing right down and pulling over at the side of the road. I could tell by the way he was gripping the steering wheel that he was afraid of getting in trouble. People like Yves hated getting in trouble.

"Relax Yves, it might be Trace," Zed said hopefully. Yves glanced out the front mirror before sighing again.

"It's not Trace. Oh man I am so screwed. Mom and dad are going to kill me."

I hated seeing Yves stressed and I wanted to do my best to help me…even if that meant breaking some of the rules myself.

"Swap seats with me, Yves," I demanded quickly, un-clipping my seat belt.

"What?" Yves frowned.

"Swap seats," I repeated. Climbing over to sit on Yves lap, not quite as gently as I intended, making Yves grunt in pain.

"What are you doing Ashley?!" Yves exclaimed.

"Just trust me on this one," I told him briefly before Yves finally gave in and climbed over to the passenger seat of the car, just before the cop came round to the side window and knocked on the glass.

I unwound the window, smiling sweetly at the young-ish police officer who was probably in his early thirties.

"Good afternoon, officer," I smiled politely, trying my best to look as innocent as possible.

"Ma'am, are you aware that you were driving over the speed limit?" He asked coolly, studying all three of our faces.

"I'm so sorry officer, I had no idea how fast I was going," I lied smoothly. "I'm not going to get in trouble, am I?" I asked sweetly.

I knew it was wrong to use my savant gift to get me out of illegal situations…but sometimes it was necessary.

My gift was quite handy to use when getting my way. I had the savant gift of seduction; that basically meant that I could get people to do whatever I want by flirting or seducing them. I could make people fall in love with me if I wanted them to; quite handy if I wanted a free drink or something, but if I wasn't careful in keeping my gift switched off, sometimes men got a little carried away.

So yes…I was going to flirt my way out of a speeding ticket. This police officer was basically putty in my hands.

After using my gift on him the police officer stared at me, dumbfound by my appearance before clearing his throat and trying his best to focus on his job whilst his subconscious desperately wanted to do whatever I told him to do.

"In trouble? Someone as beautiful as you?" The police officer blurted out before blushing red, doing his best to gain control of the situation at hand. "I'm sorry ma'am, that was inappropriate of me. Would you please show me your license, proof of insurance and registration please?"

I decided to turn my gift up a notch as I turned to lead out of the window, purposely tugging down my top a little to show some cleavage and fluttering my eyelashes flirtatiously.

"I am so sorry, Officer…I completely forgot to take my license with me…that wouldn't be a problem…would it?" I asked seductively, licking my bottom lip and staring up at him.

"Not at all, beautiful," The police officer murmured. "I'll tell you what…if you ever find your license; give me a call, yeah?" He said, pulling out a biro and writing down his mobile number on my arm, making sure to gently trail his fingers across my skin as he wrote. "Or just give me a call if you get lonely one night. I will be more than happy to accompany you to bed," He murmured in his dream like state.

"Hey! Back off!" Yves exclaimed angrily from the passenger seat, placing a possessive hand on me as a warning to the police officer, although the police officer was so caught up in admiring my appearance that he barely noticed.

"I will do, officer…thanks so much for the warning, have a great day," I purred before winding up the window and driving off, making sure that I switch my gift off as I left so he wouldn't end up being some crazy, loved-up stalker.

As I drove away, I was well aware of Yves and Zed staring at me, both with their jaws hanging open in shock. It actually looked rather comical and I couldnt help but smirk to myself.

"How the hell did you do that?!" Zed exclaimed suddenly.

"I'm a very persuasive person," I shrugged, not letting on to my secret gift of seduction.

"No…there's persuasion and then there's…that," Yves stated, shaking his head in belief.

"Just forget you ever saw that…and don't ask any more questions," I ordered, catching Yves' slightly suspicious glance towards Zed in the mirror reflection.

"Girls get away with everything," Zed sighed after a moment of silence making me smile to myself. If only he knew…


End file.
